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California.  Landlubber's  Log  ol  a  voyage  ouna  me  norn,  r>emg  a  journal  j 
Morton  MacMichael,  III,  during  a  voyage  from  Philadelphia  to  San  Francisco 
DC  Horn,  in  the  American  ship  "Pactolus."  Illustrated,  12mo.,  original  cloth, 
ce,  1879.  ($10.00). 

Only  a  few  copies  privately  printed.  _™»^ 

^---'         ft 


'nl!)    C-K 
TNW 


Bancroft 


A  LANDLUBBER'S  LOG 


OF   HIS 


VOYAGE  AROUND  CAPE  HORN. 


BEING 


A    JOURNAL   KEPT    DURING   A   FOUR    MONTHS'   VOYAGE 
ON   AN   AMERICAN   MERCHANTMAN, 


BOUND    FROM 


PHILADELPHIA  TO  SAN  FRANCISCO. 


BY 

MORTON   MAcMICHAEL   30. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
J.   B.    LIPPINCOTT    &    CO. 

1883. 


Copyright,  1882,  by  MORTON  MACMlCHAEL 


,croh  Library 


INTRODUCTORY 


IN  launching  this  little  volume  upon  the  current 
of  Christmas-tide  literature,  the  author  wishes  to 
explain  that  it  was  not  written  originally  with  an 
eye  to  publication,  but  simply  as  a  long  letter  for 
home  consumption  only.  In  that  form  a  small 
edition  was  printed  for  private  circulation,  but 
without  the  proof-sheets  having  been  overhauled 
and  sundry  errors  corrected.  The  present  edi- 
tion, if  it  has  no  other  virtue,  is  at  least  ship- 
shape and  correct.  The  only  hope  the  author  has 
of  the  book  floating  after  it  is  launched  is  derived 
from  the  fact  that  "  logs,"  as  a  rule,  do  float,  espe- 
cially when  they  are  of  light  material,  and  that 
this  log  is  certainly  the  reverse  of  heavy. 

PHILADELPHIA,  1882. 


A  LANDLUBBER'S  LOG 

OF 

HIS  VOYAGE  AROUND  CAPE  HORN. 


I. 

AT  SEA,  July  20. 

ON  the  morning  of  the  yth  inst,  just  as  early 
as  the  coming  dawn  made  seeing  possible,  the 
tugboat  that  had  been  lying  alongside  all  night 
showed  signs  of  life,  and  the  newly-arrived  crew 
were  routed  from  the  forecastle,  where  they  had 
retreated  to  sleep  away  the  effects  of  their  fare- 
well spree  on  shore.  The  silent  ship  became 
enlivened  with  the  hoarse  shouts  of  officers  and 
men,  and  with  the  rattling  of  cables  hauled  in 
from  the  dock  or  being  run  over  to  the  tug  along- 
side, and  ten  minutes  later  left  her  berth  and  was 
heading  down  the  river  Delaware.  At  breakfast- 
time  Philadelphia  was  far  astern,  and  the  anchor 
had  been  let  go  in  mid-stream,  off  the  gunpowder- 
works  at  Wilmington,  Delaware,  while  from  two 
little  sloops  alongside  we  received  the  final  por- 
tion of  our  cargo  in  the  shape  of  several  thousand 

7 


g  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

kegs  and  canisters  of  rifle  powder,  which  elevat- 
ing article  was,  with  an  abandon  that  was  far  from 
reassuring  to  any  one  of  nervous  temperament, 
stowed  away  under  the  after-cabin  and  beneath 
our  very  feet.  Ninety  tons  in  all  were  at  last 
safely  battened  down  beneath  the  hatches,  and 
the  cargo  made  complete,  but  dusk  was  upon  us, 
and  we  rode  at  anchor  until  the  following  morn- 
ing. Again  an  early  start,  and  this  time  with  a 
fair  breeze  blowing  behind  us,  to  which  was  spread 
sail  after  sail  as  they  were  dragged  from  their 
locker,  sent  aloft  and  bent  upon  the  yards.  At 
half-past  four  o'clock  Cape  May  and  Cape  Hen- 
lopen  were  on  either  beam,  and  the  pilot  slid 
down  a  rope's  end  into  the  little  boat  awaiting 
him,  and  waved  us  a  God-speed.  A  moment  later 
the  ship,  now  a  cloud  of  canvas,  keeled  to  the 
pressure  of  the  fair,  fresh  breeze  and  swept  out 
upon  the  billows  of  the  broad  Atlantic.  It  was 
from  this  moment  of  passing  from  the  bay  into 
the  ocean  that  we  will  compute  the  length  of  our 
voyage,  and  will  consider  it  ended  when  we  pass 
the  portals  of  the  Golden  Gate,  the  famous  en- 
trance to  the  harbor  of  San  Francisco. 

In  very  nearly  all  the  accounts  that  I  have  ever 
read  of  people  sailing  away  from  their  homes  for 
foreign  lands,  the  characters  thus  outward-bound, 
when  leaving  port,  gaze  long  and  earnestly  at  the 
rapidly  receding  shore,  while  their  hearts  swell 


HIS   VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN.  9 

and  throb  with  a  nameless  pain  as  the  memories 
which  cluster  about  the  land  they  are  leaving 
come  rushing  through  their  minds.  How  much 
pleasanter  it  would  have  been  for  me  could  I  but 
have  followed  their  example ;  then  might  I  have 
written  the  regulation  remarks  about  the  feeling 
of  sadness  that  stole  over  me,  as  while  thinking 
of  family  and  friends,  or  of  the  many  happy  mem- 
ories of  home,  the  white-winged  ship  swiftly  left 
the  land.  Then  could  I  have  described  how  it 
grew  dimmer  with  each  fleeting  moment,  until  at 
last  naught  but  a  faint,  misty,  cloudlike  streak  hung 
on  the  distant  horizon,  and  as  I  gazed  again,  that 
f.  m.  c.  s.,  like  unto  the  f.  m.  c.  s.'s  of  the  book-voy- 
agers, would  have  faded  from  my  sight,  while  a 
single  tear  would  have  glistened  for  a  moment  on 
my  cheek,  and  then  fallen  noiselessly  upon  the 
deck.  All  this  might  I  have  written  had  not  that 
saline  old  nautical  deity,  Father  Neptune,  promptly 
(and  with  a  viciousness  which  leads  me  to  believe 
the  old  gentleman  has  had  a  dearth  of  victims 
lately)  demanded  his  dues.  I  had  expected  an 
attack,  but  neither  so  sudden  nor  so  fierce  a  one ; 
nor  did  I  anticipate  so  complete  a  defeat.  In 
short,  fifteen  minutes  after  the  ship  left  the  Capes 
I  was  hopelessly,  helplessly  sea-sick.  A  Japanese 
proverb  says  "a  sea-voyage  is  an  inch  of  hell,"  and 
for  the  greater  part  of  six  or  seven  days  my  opinion 
on  the  subject  of  ocean  travel  tallied  exactly  with 


• 

JO  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

that  of  the  slant-eyed  philosopher  who  wrote  those 
words.  I  took  no  notice  of  anything,  didn't  want 
to  see  or  eat  anything,  couldn't  have  eaten  any- 
thing if  I  had  wanted  to,  and  was  altogether  as 
thoroughly  wretched  as  possible.  I  have  no  notes 
to  enter  in  my  log  for  that  week  of  internal  strife  ; 
I  diligently  pursued  the  ignis-fatuus,  relief,  by  all 
the  equally  useless  methods,  for  some  unknown 
reason  recommended,  and  carefully  compounded 
and  swallowed  a  dozen  or  fifteen  "  remedies  for 
sea-sickness,"  which  disgraced  the  pages  of  the 
captain's  "  family  medicine  book,"  by  their  pres- 
ence among  respectable  and  estimable  prescrip- 
tions. Time,  however,  accomplished  what  the 
delusive  medicines  and  mock  reliefs  could  not, 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  i5th  I  turned  out  to 
find  the  sea-sickness  gone  and  my  vanished  appe- 
tite returned.  The  attack  pulled  me  down  in 
weight,  and  has  left  me  rather  weak,  but  now  that 
I'm  ship-shape  again,  I'll  recover  the  lost  ground 
rapidly  with  the  help  of  those  capital  tonics,  fresh 
air,  plain  food,  plenty  of  exercise,  and  early  hours. 
We  have  crossed  the  Gulf  Stream  and  are  now 
in  mid-Atlantic,  steering  south,  and  we  have  also 
worked  our  way  over  the  first  of  the  three  calm 
belts  that  must  be  crossed  between  the  North  At- 
lantic and  Cape  Horn.  It  was  tedious  work,  but 
on  the  whole  we  did  very  well,  and  were  lucky 
enough  not  to  get  really  stuck.  These  exasperat- 


HIS   VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN.  n 

ing  barriers  to  quick  passages  are  called  the  Dol- 
drums by  sailors,  and  the  second  lies  a  little  north 
of  the  Equator,  while  number  three  is  down  at 
the  Tropic  of  Capricorn.  Corresponding-  calm 
belts  obstruct  the  navigation  of  the  Pacific  on 
similar  parallels  of  latitude,  so  that  five  more  of 
them  must  be  passed  over  before  we  reach  Cali- 
fornia. The  region  of  calms  we  recently  were  in 
is  known  as  the  Horse  Latitudes,  and  received 
its  name  from  the  fact  that  before  the  days  of 
steamers,  when  the  West  Indies  were  supplied 
with  horses  from  the  United  States  and  England, 

o 

the  vessels  which  carried  them  would  often,  when 
becalmed  in  those  latitudes,  run  short  of  water, 
so  that  a  great  part  of  their  living  freight  had  to 
be  thrown  overboard  in  order  to  save  the  lives  of 
a  few,  and  in  this  way  thousands  of  horses  were 
lost.  We  have  also  sailed  through  several  of  the 
enormous  beds  of  sea-weed  which  form  the  cele- 
brated Sargasso  Sea,  and  the  effect  was  very 
curious.  The  weed  is  very  tough,  and  closely 
knit  into-  huge  patches,  which  float  about,  just 
submerged,  and  is  covered  with  bunches  of  little 
round  berries  the  size  of  a  marrowfat  pea.  Of 
course  I  have  to  chronicle,  too,  my  first  sight  of 
those  queer  little  maritime  wanderers,  Mother 
Gary's  chickens.  Never  the  traveller  yet  who 
didn't  mention  them,  and  indeed  it  is  a  striking 
sight,  far  out  on  the  wind-swept  ocean,  to  see 


12  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG   OF 

these  tiny  birds  hovering  closely  over  the  surface 
of  the  sea,  rising  as  the  waves  rise,  and  sinking 
again  as  the  watery  hillock  subsides.  They  ap- 
pear as  tireless  as  steam-engines,  and  in  their 
curious  wavering  flight  bear  a  closer  resemblance 
to  bats  than  to  birds.  On  Thursday  a  hungry 
shark  mistook  the  revolving  brass  fan  which  is 
attached  to  the  end  of  our  patent  log-line  for  a 
fish,  and  swallowed  it.  The  captain  says  this  is 
not  an  infrequent  occurrence,  although  it  is  not 
very  often  that  the  fans  are  lost,  as  the  sharks,  not 
finding  the  article  as  toothsome  as  they  antici- 
pated, promptly  let  go.  We  have  several  extra 
fans  for  just  this  very  reason,  and  number  two  is 
now  spinning  away  astern.  At  4  A.M.  yesterday 
morning  I  was  awakened  by  hearing  the  mate  call 
down  the  companion-way  to  the  captain  that  there 
was  a  boat  coming  alongside.  I  hurried  on  some 
clothes  and  went  on  deck,  where  it  was  quite 
dark ;  but  after  a  minute  or  so  I  could  make  out 
a  long  white  whale-boat,  with  seven  or  eight  men 
in  her,  pulling  for  our  lee  quarter.  It  was  very 
calm,  but  we  had  been  hove  to  and  were  waiting 
for  them.  In  a  few  moments  they  were  alongside, 
and  as  we  could  see  no  vessels  anywhere  around 
us,  I  bad  mad  :  up  my  mind  that  it  was  a  case  of 
shipwrecked  mariners  afloat  in  an  open  boat,  and 
was  prepared  to  see  several  haggard  and  starving 
men  drag  themselves  over  the  rail,  when  my  ro- 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN.  ^ 

mancing  was  squelched  by  hearing  a  gruff  voice 
sing  out  from  the  heaving  boat  below,  "  I  say 
there  on  board  the  ship,  can  you  let's  have  some 
late  papers  ?"  Scene,  mid-ocean  on  a  pitch-dark 
morning,  a  great  ship  slowly  shoving  ahead  into 
the  darkness ;  the  lookout  discovers  a  row-boat 
full  of  men  pulling  like  mad  for  the  ship ;  ship 
hove  to,  and  her  crew  crowding  the  bulwarks  to 
get  a  glimpse  at  the  supposed  rescued  waifs,  are 
at  the  moment  of  their  greatest  suspense  for  the 
welfare  of  the  poor  creatures,  whom  Providence 
has  directed  the  ship  should  save,  requested  for 
some  late  newspapers.  The  mysterious  strangers 
were  invited  on  board,  and  two  or  three  of  them 
scrambled  up,  one  of  them  an  officer,  who,  as  soon 
as  he  reached  the  deck,  began  bellowing  out 
orders  to  the  men  below,  and  then  announced 
himself  as  second  mate  of  the  brig  "  D.  A.  Small," 
of  Provincetown,  Massachusetts,  three  months  out 
on  a  whaling  cruise,  and,  as  he  added,  "  devil  a 
quart  of  oil."  After  a  short  call  of  fifteen  minutes 
or  so  the  strangers  called  their  boat  alongside  and 
bid  us  good-by,  richer  by  a  bundle  of  New  York 
and  Philadelphia  papers  than  when  they  came. 
The  brig,  which  we  could  now  see  in  the  breaking 
daylight,  lay  some  three  miles  astern,  so  that  our 
friends  had  a  pretty  hard  pull  for  their  news,  for 
rowing  a  heavy  whale-boat  in  mid-ocean  is  a  vastly 
different  description  of  sport  than  the  same  dis- 


14  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG   OF 

tance  pulled  in  an  ordinary  row-boat  on  a  river  or 
lake.  Just  after  sunrise  we  made  out  a  large  ship 
on  the  port  bow,  evidently  bound  for  Europe,  so 
we  unloosened  the  signal  halliards,  spread  out  the 
flags,  and  soon  were  near  enough  for  her  to  see 
that  we  had  a  message  for  her  to  carry  to  port  for 
us.  When  she  was  fairly  abeam,  about  two  miles 
to  windward,  and  making  a  superb  picture  as  the 
sun  shone  on  her  broad  white  sails,  we  ran  our 
bunting  aloft  to  the  signal-gaff,  and  gave  her  our 
name  and  nation  ;  then  followed  "  from  Philadel- 
phia for  San  Francisco,"  "eleven  days  out,"  our 
longitude,  and  "all  well."  In  return  we  got, 
"  American  ship  Queenstown,"  "  Rangoon  for  the 
channel,"  "will  report  you — wish  you  a  pleasant 
voyage."  Then  both  ships  dipped  the  American 
colors  three  times  and  the  flags  were  put  away. 
Following  the  rule  that  it  never  rains  but  it  pours, 
we  spoke  two  other  vessels  before  sunset,  one  a 
French  bark,  belonging  to  a  company  that  owns 
ninety-nine  vessels,  which  number  it  never  allows 
to  increase  or  diminish,  and  which  instead  of 
naming  the  craft  comprising  this  large  fleet,  num- 
ber them  instead.  The  one  we  spoke  carried  the 
figures  43  prominently  displayed  in  black,  on  her 
mainsail,  and  the  other  vessels  of  the  company 
carry  their  numbers  in  the  same  conspicuous  posi- 
tion. She  was  seventy-two  days  out  from  Valpa- 
raiso, Chili,  and  was  bound  for  Falmouth,  England. 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN.  l$ 

The  third  vessel  spoken  was  also  a  bark,  but  this 
time  a  Britisher,  and  was  making  for  London  on  a 
voyage  from  Bombay.  Like  the  "  Queenstown," 
both  barks  promised  to  report  us.  I  intend  to 
write  this  log  but  once  a  week,  and  am  going  to 
give  the  weather,  and  other  regular  matters  of 
record  at  sea,  a  special  page,  where  they  can  be 
seen  in  tabulated  form.  Sunday  will  be  the  day 
for  this  log-writing,  and  after  the  tables  above 
mentioned,  and  the  incidents  of  the  week  are 
noted  down,  I  shall  try  and  give  you  some  idea 
of  what  life  on  a  merchantman  is  like,  and  how 
Jack  fares,  and  what  he  does  on  a  voyage  round 
the  stormy  cape. 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 


Table  giving  daily  Latitude,  Longitude,  Miles  sailed,  Temperature  at 
noon,  and  Remarks  on  the  Weather,  etc.,  from  July  9  to  July  27 
inclusive. 

July  9.— Lat.  38°  21'  N.  Ship's  run— 134  miles.* 

Lon.  72°  18'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  73°. 
Weather  fine  and  cool. 

July  10. — Lat.  38°  06'  N.  Run— 140  miles. 

Lon.  69°  20'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  78°. 

Weather  fine. 

July  II.— Lat.  37°  53'  N.  Run— 134  miles. 

Lon.  65°  45'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  81°. 

Clear  and  cool  all  day.     Squally  during  the  night. 

July  12. — Lat.  37°  29'  N.  Run — 205  miles. 

Lon.  61°  16'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  78°. 

Weather  very  fine. 

July  13. — Lat.  36°  49r  N.  Run — 226  miles. 

Lon.  56°  36'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  79°. 

Weather  fine,  except  occasional  short  and  light  squalls  during  morning. 
Sea  rough. 

July  14. — Lat.  36°  31 '  N.  Run — 222  miles. 

Lon.  51°  45'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  79°. 

Weather  fine. 

July  15. — Lat.  35°  36'  N.  Run — 226  miles. 

Lon.  47°  09'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  80°. 

Weather  fine.     Sea  running  high. 

July  1 6. — Lat.  33°  59'  N.  Run — 173  miles. 

Lon.  44°  21'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  80°. 

Fine  weather  continues.     Sea  rough. 

July  17. — Lat.  32°  34X  N.  Run — 138  miles. 

Lon.  42°  29'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  82°. 

Weather  fine.     Light  airs. 

*  Nautical  miles. 


HIS   VOYAGE  AROUND  CAPE  HORN. 

July  1 8.— Lat.  31°  50'  N.  Run— 52  miles. 

Lon.  41°  42'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  82°. 

Weather  fine  and  warm.     Light  airs  and  calms. 

July  19.— Lat.  30°  58'  N.  Run— 56  miles. 

Lon.  41°  47'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  88°. 

Weather  fine  and  warm.      Light  airs  all  A.M.      Got  the  N.E.  trade 
winds  about  3  P.M. 

July  20.— Lat.  28°  iix  N.  Run— 174  miles. 

Lon.  41°  24'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  82°. 

Fine  weather  all  day.     Squally  at  night. 

July  21. — Lat.  24°  38'  N.  Run — 224  miles. 

Lon.  40°  22X  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  83°. 

Same  weather  as  yesterday.     Sea  very  high  and  rough. 

July  22. — Lat.  21°  13'  N.  Run — 218  miles. 

Lon.  39°  37'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  82°. 

Squalls  at  short  intervals  during  morning,  and  again  late  at  night. 

July  23. — Lat.  19°  oix  N.  Run — 133  miles. 

Lon.  39°  27'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  82°. 

Weather  very  fine. 

July  24. — Lat.  1 6°  38'  N.  Run — 1 80  miles. 

Lon.  37°  40'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  82°. 

Weather  still  fine. 

July  25. — Lat.  14°  n7  N.  Run — 160  miles. 

Lon.  36°  20'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  82°. 

Weather  fine.     Several  dry  squalls  during  the  day.     Wind  died  away 
towards  evening. 

July  26. — Lat.  13°  ii'N.  Run — 70  miles. 

Lon.  35°  59'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  84°. 

Weather  beautiful.     Light  air  and  calms. 

July  27. — Lat.  11°  54'  N.  Run — 78  miles. 

Lon.  35°  36'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  85°. 

Rain-squalls  before  sunrise.      Clear  and  warm   all   day.      Continued 
calms.     Lost  N.E.  trade  winds  to-day. 


A   LANDLUBBERS  LOG    UF 


II. 

AT  SEA,  July  27. 

THE  above  table  brings  me  up  to  date  as  far  as 
our  daily  records  of  position,  distance  sailed,  and 
weather  reports  are  concerned,  and  a  glance  at  it 
will  show  how  uniformly  fine  the  weather  has  been 
since  we  left  Philadelphia,  the  few  squalls  we  have 
experienced  coming  as  a  rule  at  night,  and  although 
the  sea  has  been  rough  on  several  occasions,  the 
ship  has  ridden  like  a  cork  and  the  decks  been  as 
dry  as  a  bone.  I  might  say,  in  explanation  of  the 
tables,  that  a  nautical  day  is  from  meridian  to  me- 
ridian, that  is  to  say,  from  noon  to  noon,  and  when, 
as  under  to-day's  heading,  I  say  we  ran  seventy- 
eight  miles,  I  mean  that  distance  was  covered  from 
twelve  o'clock  yesterday  to  twelve  o'clock  to-day. 

July  23. — In  the  evening  a  flying-fish  that  struck 
one  of  the  lower  sails  fell  on  deck,  and  being  the 
first  one  I  have  had  a  close  view  of,  was  a  curiosity ; 
it  measured  about  nine  inches  in  length,  and  was 
shaped  like  a  chub.  The  next  morning  I  found 
it  nicely  broiled  on  my  plate  at  breakfast,  and 
can  recommend  the  species  as  both  delicate  and 
well  flavored.  Flying-fish,  the  mate  tells  me,  are 
about  the  only  deep-water  fish  that  have  scales, 
nearly  all  others  met  at  sea,  from  the  dolphins  to 
the  whales,  wearing  a  skin.  Passed  two  small 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN.  lg 

vessels  bound  north ;  shortly  after  dark  they 
passed  across  the  face  of  the  newly  arisen  moon, 
and  formed  for  the  moment  a  very  pretty  sil- 
houette. Later,  made  out  the  celebrated  constel- 
lation of  the  Southern  Cross,  on  the  southern 
horizon ;  but  it  will  be  some  time  before  we  see 
it  in  its  most  beautiful  phase,  that  is,  shining  with 
great  brilliancy  directly  above  us. 

July  25. — During  the  morning  passed  through  a 
large  fleet  of  nautilus,  those  renowned  little  crea- 
tures of  the  jelly-fish  species,  that  spread  their 
tiny  film-like  sails  in  delicate  shades  of  pink  and 
blue,  and  cruise  about  over  the  waves,  sometimes 
alone  or  in  little  groups,  and  again,  as  I  first  saw 
them,  in  vast  numbers.  The  sunlight  playing  on 
the  thousands  of  rising  and  falling  sails  made  a 
very  pretty  picture.  We  were  slopping  along  at 
a  lazy  pace  when  we  overtook  the  fleet,  which  was 
running  before  a  gentle  breeze  just  strong  enough 
to  suit  the  sailing  qualities  of  its  tiny  craft,  and 
after  scoring  several  misses  in  my  attempts  to 
catch  one,  I  succeeded  at  last  in  slipping  a  bucket 
directly  beneath  a  beauty  and  hauled  it  aboard 
without  disturbing  it  in  the  slightest  degree. 
Placing  the  bucket  on  deck,  I  went  forward  to  call 
the  carpenter  and  show  him  my  prize.  As  we 
started  aft  we  saw  one  of  the  ship's  cats  approach 
the  bucket  and  proceed  to  investigate  the  nau- 
tilus, doubtless  attracted  by  its  fishy  odor,  and 


2Q  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG   OF 

before  we  could  interfere  puss  had  captured  the 
prize,  and  was  scampering  away  with  it.  Another 
name  common  to  the  nautilus  is  that  of  Portu- 
guese men-of-war,  and  this  specimen  promptly 
gave  evidence  of  its  warlike  nature  by  stinging 
the  cat  before  she  had  carried  it  across  the  deck, 
pussy  dropping  it  with  a  terrified  yowl,  and  van- 
ishing into  her  sanctum,  the  galley,  as  though  a 
dozen  dogs  were  at  her  heels.  During  the  rest 
of  the  day  she  sat  in  a  corner,  uttering  plaintive 
meyows,  and  alternately  rubbing  her  cheeks  on 
the  deck  or  scraping  her  swollen  tongue  with  one 
of  her  front  paws. 

July  26. — The  ship  becalmed.  Took  a  plunge- 
bath  overboard,  with  a  light  line  around  me, — the 
captain  made  such  a  fuss  about  sharks,  however, 
that  I  soon  came  on  deck.  This  bringing  me  up 
to  date,  I  will  close  the  log  for  this  week  with  an 
account  of  the  ship  herself,  and  from  week  to 
week  hereafter  tell  you  of  her  officers  and  crew, 
and  how  we  pass  the  time. 

The  "  Pactolus"  is  a  Maine-built  ship,  and  was 
launched  in  the  winter  of  1864;  she  was  built  by 
her  present  owners,  a  New  York  firm,  whose 
house-flags  flutter  at  the  peaks  of  some  of  the 
finest  clippers  of  our  mercantile  marine.  Her 
measurements  are  as  follows :  length  one  him- 

o 

dred  and  ninety-eight  feet,  beam  thirty-eight  feet 
six  inches,  and  she  registers  twelve  hundred  and 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN.  2I 

five  tons.  She  is  full  ship-rigged,  carries  very 
heavy  spars,  and  when  under  full  sail  spreads 
fifteen  thousand  square  feet  of  canvas.  Her 
model  is  graceful,  her  bows  as  sharp  and  sym- 
metrical as  those  of  a  yacht,  and  she  rides  the 
waves  as  easily  and  buoyantly  as  a  duck  a  coun- 
try pond.  To  save  myself  the  trouble  of  describ- 
ing her  various  parts,  I  offer  the  accompanying 
sketches  of  the  arrangement  of  her  deck  and 
cabin,  which  I  hope  will  give  you  a  good  idea  of 
the  ship's  various  departments. 

The  poop-deck  is  elevated  above  the  main  deck 
about  four  or  five  feet,  and  the  top  of  the  after- 
house  is  also  used  as  a  deck,  and  is  the  favorite 
lounging-place  of  the  officers  and  captain  in  the 
early  evening,  the  tops  of  the  skylights  forming 
comfortable  seats.  There  is  also  a  hammock 
swung  there  from  the  mizzen-mast  to  the  mizzen 
shrouds,  and  the  spanker-boom,  especially  when 
the  sail  is  set,  affords  a  capital  resting-place. 

Julyip. — The  ship  surrounded  by  a  large  school 
of  porpoises  all  day.  It  numbered  probably  over 
two  hundred  fish.  They  seemed  to  be  divided 
into  families  of  five,  and  sometimes  six  or  seven 
fish  each.  These  would  swim  about  in  a  perfect 
line,  all  abreast,  all  curving  out  of  water  at  once, 
and  each  tail  disappearing  at  the  same  instant. 
The  calm  water  was  alive  with  these  files  of  ma- 
rine soldiers,  whose  drilling  would  reflect  honor 


22 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 


Kain  Deck. 


CAB  IX  PL  AX. 

A.  fonvaitl  Cctbitt. 
"&.  lifter  „ 

*  Sto/o  C/t&st  '•  Mte  sra-  /lu*le  /of 
'  root/i  wfiere  ciof/iiutjf,  boots, 
c.  are  /fef>t , 


b/erlo\ 
<MSf,y^ 


QFurvmail 


'.  Rninu 
tioim 


f/if 


Afar 
Httfcfv 


}  To 


J!,,j,-Jy 


ON    DECK. 


HIS   VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 

on  the  State  Fencibles  themselves.  The  captain 
tried  to  harpoon  one  during  the  morning,  but  they 
would  not  approach  close  enough,  as  only  when 
the  ship  has  some  head-way  will  they  venture  to 
play  about  the  bow.  A  breeze  sprang  up  about 
three  o'clock,  and  the  second  mate  lashed  himself 
to  the  martingale  (which  is  the  bar  of  wood  point- 
ing downward  from  the  bowsprit)  to  try  his  luck 
at  sticking  a  porpoise,  numbers  of  which  were 
playing  underneath  him.  After  one  blank  cast 
he  drove  the  harpoon  deep  into  a  regular  old 
warrior,  who  struggled  like  a  Trojan,  but  who  was 
finally  landed  on  deck,  all  hands  having  given  a 
hand  to  the  rope  and  singing  a  sailor's  song  as  they 
hove  him  over  the  rail.  He  measured  nine  feet  six 
inches  in  length.  That  evening  and  all  day  Thurs- 
day we  regaled  ourselves  with  porpoise  steaks, 
liver,  and  brains  served  up  in  various  styles.  The 
first  tasted  not  unlike  very  coarse  juiceless  beef, 
the  second  had  the  delicate  flavor  of  black  mud, 
but  the  brains  were  really  quite  palatable.  On  the 
appearance  of  a  plate  of  steaks  for  Friday's  break- 
fast, the  unanimous  vote  of  captain,  mate,  and 
passengers  consigned  about  two  hundred  pounds 
of  still  uncooked  meat  to  a  watery  grave,  where 
it  probably  served  as  the  dinner  of  some  hungry 
shark.  From  inside  the  jawbone  we  got  nearly 
a  quart  of  very  fine  oil,  which  is  highly  prized  by 
jewellers  on  account  of  its  purity. 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 


Table  for  week  ending  August  3. 

July  28. — Lat.  11°  42'  N.  Run — 13  miles. 

Lon.  45°  42'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  86°. 

Weather  fine.     Calms  and  cat's-paws. 

July  29. — Lat.  10°  17'  N.  Run — 109  miles. 

Lon.  34°  52'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  85°. 

Weather  fine.     Light  breezes  and  calms. 

July  30  — Lat.  9°  57'  N.  Run — 46  miles. 

Lon.  34°  04'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  84°. 

Weather  fine. 

July  31. — Lat.  8°  13'  N.  Run — 136  miles. 

Lon.  32°  38'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  8l°. 

Squalls  all  day;  very  heavy  rain  during  afternoon. 

August  I. — Lat.  7°  19'  N.  Run — 218  miles. 

Lon.  28°  57'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  82°. 

Weather  fine.     Sea  rough  and  heavy. 

August  2. — -Lat.  6°  28'  N.  Run — 139  miles. 

Lon.  28°  25'  W.  Temp,  al  noon,  83°. 

Weather  fine.     Got  S.E.  trade  winds  during   morning.     Sea  remains 
rough. 

August  3. — Lat.  4°  51'  N.  Run — 146  miles. 

Lon.  28°  34'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  83°. 

Weather  fine.     Sea  still  rough. 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 


III. 

AT  SEA,  SUNDAY,  August  3. 

ANOTHER  week  of  beautiful  weather,  the  first 
three  days  being  mostly  calm.  These  calms, 
although  great  bugbears  to  the  captain,  who  frets 
at  the  delays  they  cause  in  the  passage,  are  to  me 
very  pleasant.  The  contrast  is  indeed  great  be- 
tween when,  with  every  stitch  of  canvas  set,  we 
go  plunging  along  before  a  stiff  breeze,  reeling 
off  twelve  knots  the  hour,  the  ocean  covered  with 
white-caps  as  far  as  the  eye  can  see,  and,  when 
not  a  breath  of  air  stirring,  the  ship  rolls  heavily 
on  the  long  swells  that  glisten  under  the  sun  like 
metal.  In  the  shadow  of  the  ship  the  clear  blue 
water  makes  me  yearn  to  tumble  in  and  take  a 
swim,  but  the  little  word  "  sharks"  explains  why  I 
curb  my  desires  and  remain  on  deck.  Still,  a  few 
buckets  of  salt  water  poured  over  me  by  one  of 
the  sailors  is  enough  of  a  substitute  to  take  the 
edge  off  my  disappointment. 

While  thus  becalmed  we  often  lose  steerage- 
way  altogether,  swinging  all  around  the  compass. 
The  sails,  swung  backwards  and  forwards  by  the 
motion  of  the  vessel,  slap  against  the  masts  at  reg- 
ular intervals  with  loud  reports,  and  the  timbers 
creak  and  groan  at  a  great  rate.  Calms  wear  out 

B  3 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

a  ship's  sails  and  rigging  much  faster  than  breezes 
do,  on  account  of  the  constant  chafing  they  un- 
dergo. To  avoid  this  in  a  measure  the  parts 
most  exposed  are  thickly  padded  with  yarn,  etc. ; 
this  is  called  "  chafing-gear,"  and  is  taken  off  when 
going  into  port. 

The  sunsets  on  these  calm  evenings  are  exquis- 
itely beautiful,  especially  the  afterglow,  when  soft 
rays  of  almost  every  imaginable  color  shoot  up 
from  the  horizon,  spreading  out  like  huge  fans, 
the  different  tints  blending  together  as  delicately 
as  the  colors  in  mother-of-pearl,  which  illegitimate 
jewel  is  perhaps  the  best  simile  I  could  find  to 
describe  the  sky  at  these  times.  In  fact,  since 
leaving  port  we  have  enjoyed  a  series  of  sunsets 
beautiful  beyond  description.  The  ocean  is  the 
place  to  see  them  at  their  best,  and  here  in  the 
tropics  are  witnessed  the  most  beautiful  ones. 
Sometimes,  when  after  a  blow  the  clouds  are  wild 
and  broken,  the  effects  are  positively  startling ; 
no  artist  could  ever  hope  to  reproduce  them,  and 
were  they  transferred  to  canvas,  people  would 
probably  pronounce  them  strangely  unnatural. 

I  shall  devote  this  week's  entry  in  the  log  to  a 
description  of  the  officers  and  crew,  starting  of 
course  with  the  captain,  or,  to  give  him  his  sailor 
name,  "  the  old  man."  This  title,  which  is  always 
applied  in  utter  disregard  of  the  number  of  birth- 
days the  skipper  may  have  seen,  is  in  the  case  of 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN.  27 

Captain   C ,  who   commands   the   "  Pactolus," 

most  certainly  a  misnomer,  for  he  is  only  thirty 
years  of  age.  About  five  feet  ten  inches  in  height, 
with  broad  shoulders,  a  strongly-built  figure,  brown 
hair  and  eyes,  and  a  well-tanned  face,  smoothly 
shaven  with  the  exception  of  a  small  moustache, 
the  captain  is  as  handsome  as  he  is  pleasant,  and 
a  thorough  sailor  and  navigator  both  in  theory 
and  practice.  He  is  a  genial,  good-natured  fellow, 
who  takes  an  absorbing  interest  in  his  profession 
and  its  duties,  and  seems  also  to  take  great  pleas- 
ure in  dispelling  the  darkness  of  a  landlubber's 
ignorance  with  which  I  am  at  first  naturally  be- 
fogged. Under  his  patient  guidance  the  mysteries 
of  the  maze  of  rigging  have  been  made  clear,  the 
unknown  lingo  of  technical  orders  has  become 
sense  to  my  ears,  and  I  have  learned  to  box  the 
compass,  heave  the  log,  handle  the  wheel,  and 
(with  considerable  assistance  as  yet)  "  shoot  the 
sun."  Every  day  when  he  locates  our  position 
on  the  chart  he  chats  with  me  about  it  as  though 
I  were  as  good  a  navigator  as  himself,  and  alto- 
gether impresses  me  with  the  conviction  that  it 
would  have  been  difficult  to  have  found  a  pleas- 
anter  commander.  Sprung  from  a  race  of  hardy 
New  England  mariners,  and  hailing  from  the 
coast  of  Maine,  he  has  from  his  fifteenth  year 
pursued  a  sailor's  life,  and  has  mounted  from  the 
forecastle  of  a  coaster  to  the  quarter-deck  of  a 


2g  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG   OF  • 

clipper.  He  joined  the  "  Pactolus"  as  third  mate, 
successively  filled  the  berths  of  second  and  first 
mates,  and  three  years  ago,  after  eight  years' 
service  on  board,  was  given  command.  He  loves 
his  ship,  which  for  so  many  years  has  been  his 
home,  and  is,  as  I  said,  devoted  to  his  profession, 
spending  a  great  part  of  his  time  each  day  in 
working  up  sights,  taking  observations,  fixing  his 
charts  and  log-books,  and  in  poring  over  nautical 
records  and  sailing  directions.  For  the  govern- 
ment he  keeps  a  most  complicated  meteorological 
journal,  which  involves  no  small  amount  of  labor, 
and  for  which  he  has  been  very  highly  compli- 
mented by  the  authorities  at  Washington.  Proud 
of  his  ship,  it  is  his  delight  to  keep  her  in  perfect 
order,  and  to  sustain  her  good  name  for  rapid 
passages,  and  on  this  voyage  is  racing  with  the 
clipper-ship  "Joseph  S.  Spinney,"  a  two-thousand- 
tonner,  that  sailed  from  New  York  for  San  Fran- 
cisco five  days  before  we  passed  to  sea.  The 
two  captains  are  old  friends  and  rivals,  and  for 
the  last  three  years  the  two  ships  have  once  each 
twelvemonth  started  at  the  same  time  for  Califor- 
nia. Twice  the  "  Pactolus"  triumphantly  scored 
the  best  run,  but  last  season  the  "  Spinney"  won 
in  a  canter  after  a  rattling  passage  of  one  hundred 
'and  seventeen  days.  Perhaps,  however,  the  "Pac- 
tolus" was  not  put  through  her  best  paces,  for 
Captain  C was  for  some  reason  compelled  to 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN.  2g 

shift  his  command  for  the  time  being,  and  another 
skipper  took  his  ship  to  San  Francisco  for  him. 
This  voyage  he  is  resolved  to  retrieve  last  year's 
defeat,  and  it  will  be  a  bitter  pill  for  him  to  swal- 
low if  the  "Spinney"  scores  the  better  run.  Nat- 
urally I  back  him  in  his  wish  for  victory.  At  vari- 
ance with  the  habits  of  most  sailors,  the  captain 
never  smokes,  and  while  at  sea  never  drinks 
either  wines  or  liquors,  but  for  all  that  frowns  not 
on  those  petty  vices  if  practised  by  his  officers  or 
crew. 

Mr.  B ,  the  first  mate,  is  the  captain's  senior 

by  one  year,  .and  like  him  is  also  a  New  Eng- 
lander,  being  a  native  of  Connecticut.  He  is 
stouter  than  the  captain,  has  a  short,  reddish 
beard,  blue  eyes,  rosy  cheeks,  and  when  rigged 
out  in  a  pea-jacket,  high-top  boots,  and  a  big  flat- 
topped  Scotch  cap,  is  the  picture  of  a  jolly  sailor. 
He,  too,  is  a  thorough  seaman,  and  he  gives 
his  orders  with  a  snap  and  vim  that  sends  the 
sailors  about  their  duties  in  double-quick  time. 
Like  the  captain,  Mr.  B is  very  kind  in  ex- 
plaining anything  I  wish  to  know  about  the  vessel. 
He  has  been  in  many  parts  of  the  world  in  the 
course  of  his  life  at  sea,  and  has  plenty  of  yarns 
to  spin  of  his  adventures  and  experiences,  some 
of  which  are  most  interesting  and  amusing,  even  if 
they  are  here  and  there  inlaid  with  unmistakable 
"  taffy."  He  is  a  great  smoker  and  reader,  is 

3* 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

well  posted  on  all  sorts  of  topics,  and  takes  much 
pleasure  in  the  large  supply  of  cheap  reprints  I 
have  on  board  with  me,  having  in  fact  read  a 
great  many  more  of  them  than  I  have  myself. 
Mr.  B is  slightly  English  in  his  feelings,  hav- 
ing married  an  English  lady  and  lived  there  at 
various  periods  of  his  life,  Liverpool,  in  fact,  being 
his  home.  We  are  great  friends,  and  I  spend 
hours  on  deck  with  him  on  the  evenings  when  it 
is  his  early  watch. 

Our  second   mate,   Mr.  D ,  is  a  character, 

and  promises  to  be  a  most  important  element  in 
making  my  voyage  a  pleasant  one.  As  to  his 
capabilities  I  give  the  verdict  of  the  captain  and 
mate,  who  declare  him  to  be  a  capital  sailor  and 
second  officer,  but  a  failure  when  it  comes  to  the 
science  of  navigation.  However,  he  doesn't  have 
to  take  a  hand  in  that  branch  of  the  ship's  routine, 
and  so  it  don't  matter.  He  daily  goes  through 
the  process  of  taking  sights,  as  his  superior  officers 
do,  but  they  smile  and  say  his  efforts  are  a  delu- 
sion and  a  snare  which  they  are  not  to  be  taken 
in  by,  although  they  are  too  good-natured  to  let 
him  know  that  they  see  through  his  attempt  to  be 
judged  a  navigator.  He  claims  to  be  from  Maine, 
but  again  his  superiors  doubt  him,  and  style  him 
a  "  blue  nose,"  by  which  they  mean  a  native  of 
Nova  Scotia.  What  they  form  their  opinions 
upon  I  cannot  tell.  Mr.  D is  a  fine-looking 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN.  31 

fellow,  of  powerful  build  and  dark  complexion, 
and  is,  I  should  judge,  about  twenty-seven  or 
twenty-eight  years  old.  His  character  may  be 
described  as  being  a  combination  of  Mark  Tapley 
and  the  Baron  Munchausen,  for  good  nature  and 
light-heartedness  seem  to  be  his  natural  state  of 
mind,  and  his  fictions  are  continuous  and  colossal. 
Whatever  he  does  he  seems  to  enjoy  doing  it: 
whether  it  be  spinning  a  yarn,  singing  a  song, 
playing  a  fiddle,  or  damning  the  crew,  he  does  it 
with  a  hearty  good-will,  and  does  it  with  a  chuckle 
and  a  smile.  But  his  strong  point  is  the  facility 
and  readiness  with  which  he  can  invent  and  relate 
stories  of  such  utter  improbability  that  the  tales 
of  the  aforementioned  baron  seem  by  comparison 
but  mild  effort  at  drawing  the  long-bow.  He  is 
always  ready  to  spin  these  entirely  unbelievable 
yarns,  and  does  so  with  an  earnestness  and  gusto 
which  are  most  amusing,  and  what  makes  them 
even  more  attractive,  they  are  all  related  as  being 
his  own  personal  experiences.  Mr.  D pos- 
sesses an  old  violin,  fearful  in  tone,  and  with  but 
two  strings,  on  which  he  spends  most  of  his 
watches  below  in  sawing  into  a  wheezing  accom- 
paniment to  the  comic  ditties  that  he  loves  to  sing, 
interspersing  them  with  jokes  and  sayings  of  the 
nature  that  delight  variety  theatre  patrons  and 
the  gods  of  the  gallery.  Often  he  will  bring  this 
treasured  instrument  into  the  carpenter-shop,  and, 


?2  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG   OF 

«_/ 

seated  on  a  low  stool,  will  amuse  himself  and  an 
audience  consisting  of  the  carpenter,  the  cook,  the 
steward,  and  myself  with  his  capital  imitations  of 
negro  and  Dutch  performers.  These  perform- 
ances delight  him  greatly,  and  he  often  laughs  till 
the  tears  trickle  down  his  cheeks. 

The  carpenter  is  a  very  important  man  on 
board,  and  is  known  as  "  Chips."  He  is  busily 
engaged  from  morning  till  night,  and  stands  no 
watches.  Our  Chips  is  a  middle-aged,  pleasant- 
faced  Yankee,  a  cousin  of  the  captain,  and  a  very 
companionable  man,  in  whose  shop  I  spend  many 
a  pleasant  hour  whittling  sticks  and  chatting. 
Then  come  those  important  functionaries,  the  stew- 
ard a<*id  cook,  both  genuine  almond-eyed  China- 
men, who  can  talk  a  limited  amount  of  pigeon- 
English,  and  are  very  queer  chaps.  Of  the  two 
the  steward  is  the  more  accomplished,  and  is 
making  praiseworthy  efforts  to  improve  his  lim- 
ited knowledge  of  English  by  diligently  studying 
with  a  spelling-book  and  slate.  Nearly  every 
evenine  he  devotes  an  hour  to  his  task,  and 

o 

sometimes  I  help  him  along,  much  to  his  delight. 
On  board  his  title  is  simply  "steward,"  but  he 
says,  "  Me  leal  namee  b'long  Chin  Lee  ;  me  comee 
flom  Tin  Sin  (Tsin  Tsin)  ;  b'long  vellie  nice  place 

•          /"M    *  » 

in  China. 

Thus  it  is  seen  that  I  am  very  pleasantly  fixed 
as  regards  the  personnel  of  the  ship's  officers,  and 


HIS   VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 


33 


this  brings  me  to  the  crew,  among  whom  should  be 
placed  the  last  three  mentioned  personages.  The 
sailors  number  sixteen,  and  are,  the  mate  tells 
me,  an  average  lot.  Their  nationality  is  various, 
England,  France,  Norway,  Sweden,  Austria,  Italy, 
and  Ireland  all  contributing  one  or  more  speci- 
mens of  their  mariners,  and  they  seem  a  willing 
and  hardy  set  of  Jacks.  Later  I  will  speak  of 
them  again.  Last  comes  the  ship's  boy,  at  best  a 
thankless  berth,  and  when  unpleasant,  unpleasant 
with  a  vengeance.  Our  boy  is  the  only  American 
before  the  mast.  He  is  from  Girard  College,  and 
like  many  a  boy  before  him,  longed  to  be  a  sailor, 
so,  after  useless  expostulations  from  his  teachers 
and  friends,  shipped  on  board  the  "  Pactolus." 
He  acknowledges  already  that  the  life  is  not  what 
he  had  pictured  it  to  be,  but  pluckily  takes  a 
cheerful  view  of  it.  I  fancy  he  has  not  been  fully 
tested  yet,  and  that  there  is  plenty  of  experience 
in  store  for  him  that  will  try  his  mettle  far  more 
than  that  he  has  already  gone  through.  It's  a 
hard  school,  and  no  mistake,  but  he  has  good- 
natured  superiors,  and  that  counts  for  everything 
in  the  life  of  a  ship's  boy,  for  with  tyrants  for 
officers,  as  is  so  often  the  case,  the  ship's  boy  has 
about  as  utterly  miserable  an  existence  as  can  be 
imagined. 

With  the  addition  of  my  fellow-passenger,  an 
American  gentleman  of  about  thirty  years  of  age, 


34  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

who  is  bound  for  California  with  the  intention  of 
going"  into  business  there,  we  number,  all  told, 
twenty-five  hands,  and  next  week  I  will  try  and 
give  you  some  idea  of  our  various  daily  occupa- 
tions. 


HIS  VOYAGE  AROUND   CAPE  HORN. 


Table  for  week  ending  August  IO 

August  4. — Lat.  2°  26'  N.  Run — 155  miles. 

Lon.  29°  37'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  84°. 

Weather  beautiful.     Sea  moderating. 

August  5. — Lat.  o°  4<y  S.  Run — 190  miles. 

Lon.  30°  48'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  79°. 

Weather  fine.  Crossed  the  equator  at  7.30  A.M.,  twenty-seven  and  one- 
half  days  from  Capes  of  Delaware.  Heavy  clew  after  sunset. 

August  6. — Lat.  2°  35'  S.  Run — 127  miles. 

Lon.  31°  52'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  79°. 

Squally  between  I  and  8  A.M.  Rest  of  the  day  very  fine.  Sea  rough 
and  ugly. 

August  7.— Lat.  4°  54'  S.  Run— 177  miles. 

Lon.  33°  37'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  80°. 

Fine  weather.  Rough  cross-sea.  Ship  twisting  badly.  Passed  fifteen 
miles  west  of  island  of  Fernando  de  Noronha  at  12.30  A.M. 

August  8. — Lat.  6°  45'  S.  Run — 162  miles. 

Lon.  35°  29'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  82°. 

Squalls  and  rain  till  12  M.  Land  in  sight  about  Cape  Branco,  bearing 
W.S.W.  to  W.  by  N.  Distance  about  eighteen  miles  after  I  P.M.  Weather 
fine  all  afternoon  and  evening. 

August  9.— Lat.  7°  44°  S.  Run— 136  miles. 

Lon.  34°  39'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  80°. 

Weather  beautiful  at  12  M.  Were  within  six  miles  of  the  coast  of 
Brazil.  Tacked  ship  and  stood  to  the  eastward  at  that  hour. 

August  10. — Lat.  9°  32'  S.  Run — 145  miles. 

Lon.  34°  12'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  80°. 

Weather  very  fine. 


36  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 


TV. 

AT  SEA,  SUNDAY,  August  10. 

August  7. — During  the  day,  we  passed  between 
the  Rocas  Reef  and  the  island  of  Fernando  de 
Noronha.  The  former  bearing  west,  some  sixty 
miles  on  our  starboard,  and  the  island  quarter  that 
distance  on  our  port  beam. 

The  Rocas  is  a  circular  coral  reef,  mostly  just 
submerged,  and  about  two  miles  in  diameter,  and 
is  the  only  one  of  its  kind  in  the  west  Atlantic. 
Lying  as  it  does  about  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  miles  off  the  northeastern  extremity  of  the 
Brazilian  coast,  directly  in  the  great  highway 
across  the  equator,  it  is  considered  one  of,  if  not 
the  most  dangerous  spots  in  that  ocean.  On  its 
treacherous  coral  rocks  are  piled  the  timbers  of 
many  fine  ships,  which,  without  warning  of  any 
kind,  have  rushed  headlong  to  their  destruction. 
Fernando  de  Noronha — the  outlines  of  which 
were  visible  from  deck — is  an  island  about  six 
and  a  half  miles  long  by  two  miles  wide,  and  is 
by  far  the  largest  of  a  small  cluster.  The  shore 
is  generally  very  steep  and  rocky,  at  one  place 
towering  into  a  rugged  peak  eight  hundred  feet 
high ;  but  there  are  one  or  two  small  bays,  where 
sandy  beaches  may  be  found.  It  is  said  to  be  a 


HIS   VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 

beautiful  spot,  having  a  great  variety  of  tropical 
vegetation,  is  owned  by  the  Brazilian  government, 
and  is  used  as  a  convict  station  and  place  of  exile 
for  political  offenders.  They  most  certainly  have 
a  preferable  prison  to  that  of  the  subjects  of  the 
Czar,  who  are  waltzed  off  to  Siberia. 

The  same  day  we  ran  past  two  barks,  probably 
bound  for  Rio,  and  another  flying-fish  contributed 
himself  to  our  breakfast  bill  of  fare  by  flying  on 
board.  Of  the  many  thousands  we  see  all  around 
the  ship,  I  wish  more  would  follow  his  example. 

August  8. — Sighted  the  coast  of  Brazil,  while 
on  an  inshore  tack,  beating  past  Cape  Saint  Roque. 
To  me  it  only  seemed  a  low  streak,  looking  like 
a  fog-bank,  but  the  captain  assured  me  it  was 
land.  During  that  night  we  continued  standing 
in  towards  shore. 

August  9. — At  sunrise  the  coast  bore  about 
twenty  miles  to  the  westward.  The  breeze  was 
very  light,  and,  although  every  stitch  of  canvas 
was  set,  the  ship  moved  but  slowly.  It  was  as 
beautiful  a  day  as  I  ever  saw.  The  sky,  a  delicate 
turquoise  shade,  formed  a  charming  contrast  to 
the  deep  sapphire  blue  of  the  ocean,  whose  sur- 
face was  scarcely  more  than  rippled  by  the  light 
airs,  and  the  sun,  instead  of  broiling  us  alive  as  it 
is  in  the  habit  of  doing  people  down  here,  only 
raised  the  quicksilver  to  "eighty."  At  10  A.M.  the 
nearest  land  lay  about  twelve  miles  on  the  star- 

4 


38  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

board  beam,  the  ship  then  heading  about  south. 
Going  aloft  with  a  glass  to  get  a  better  view,  I 
soon  made  out  a  fleet  of  small  sails  standing  off 
shore,  and  heading  so  as  to  pass  close  to  us. 
Half  an  hour  brought  them  close  enough  for  the 
captain  to  pronounce  them  catamarans,  and  a  few 
minutes  later  the  entire  fleet  of  perhaps  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  passed  within  short  range,  several 
going  so  close  under  the  stern  that  we  could  have 
tossed  a  penny  over  them.  These  curious  boats, 
or  rather  rafts,  are  made  by  lashing  side  by  side 
some  four  or  five  large  logs  with  pointed  ends, 
leaving  room  enough  between  each  log  for  the  free 
passage  of  the  water.  Over  these  is  laid  a  plank 
deck,  through  which  is  stuck  the  mast.  At  the 
back  is  lashed  a  raised  seat,  on  which  the  helms- 
man sits  or  leans  to  steer,  which  he  does  with  a 
long  oar.  The  catamarans  were  mostly  rigged 
with  leg-of-mutton  sails,  but  some  few  had  small 
spankers,  and  one  high-toned  captain  sported  a 
jib  about  the  size  of  a  healthy  towel.  The  men 
who  comprised  their  small  crews  (some  carrying 
two  and  others  three)  were  dark-skinned  chaps 
with  straight  black  hair,  and  are  the  Indian  fisher- 
men of  the  coast.  This  was  apparent  from  the 
nets  that  we  could  see  hanging  on  the  masts,  to- 
gether with  a  big  bag,  which  probably  held  their 
provisions.  The  fleet  alJ  passed  us,  heading  north- 
east, in  which  direction  lie  the  fishing-banks  that 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 


39 


supply  Pernambuco.  By  noon  we  were  only  six 
miles  off  shore.  A  little  to  the  southward  the 
land  receded,  showing-  us  the  entrance  to  Per- 
nambuco harbor,  and  had  we  been  bound  there,  a 
few  hours  would  have  found  us  at  anchor  off  the 
city  front.  Pernambuco  is  the  third  city  in  im- 
portance in  Brazil,  and  has  about  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  thousand  inhabitants.  The  city 
proper  we  could  not  see,  but  perched  on  tli2 
summit  of  one  of  the  high  hills  that  form  a  rango 
of  the  town  the  suburb  of  Olinda  was  plainly  vis- 
ible from  deck.  The  houses  and  churches,  which 
are  all  white,  looked  very  pretty,  imbedded  as  they 
were  on  the  green  hills.  Some  little  distance  from 
the  village  stands  an  old  convent  in  the  centre  of 
a  cocoanut  grove,  three  trees  of  which  tower  far 
above  their  fellows,  and  are  seen  a  long  distance 
off  when  coming  in  from  sea. 

From  aloft  I  could  easily  make  out  the  line  of 
surf  breaking  on  the  beach,  and  also  a  low  fort 
which  was  built  a  long  time  ago  by  the  Dutch,  the 
stones  in  its  foundation  being  brought  all  the  way 
from.  Europe.  Tacking  again  at  12.30,  we  ran 
direct  off  shore  before  a  fine  land  breeze,  and 
by  4  P.M.  had  sunk  the  land  astern.  About  two 
o'clock  my  attention  was  attracted  by  what  looked 
like  a  patch  of  breakers,  half  a  mile  on  the  weather 
bow.  The  second  mate  noticed  it  at  the  same 
moment,  and  pronounced  it  to  be  a  couple  of 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG   OF 

whales  playing  or  fighting.  So  it  proved,  and 
soon  afterwards  many  others  were  seen  blowing 
in  the  same  direction.  They  gradually  drew 
nearer,  and  two  monsters  followed  us,  playing  in 
our  wake,  while  others  were  rising  all  around  the 
ship.  The  mate  and  I  went  up  in  the  mizzen 
cross-trees,  from  which  elevated  seat  the  entire 
forms  of  the  big  ones  astern  could  be  plainly 
seen.  They  would  come  within  a  hundred  feet 
of  the  ship,  rise  and  blow,  and  then  sink  a  few 
feet  below  the  surface  for  a  minute,  and  swim  on 
again.  After  half  an  hour  of  this  performance 
the  captain  loaded  his  rifle,  and  just  as  one 
spouted  let  drive.  The  slug  struck  "  full  and  by;" 
the  whale  stung  by  the  pain  threw  himself  almost 
out  of  the  water,  coming  down  with  a  sounding 
smack,  and  throwing  the  spray  for  many  yards. 
On  striking  the  water  he  fluked  or  dived,  his  tre- 
mendous tail  giving  an  extra  flourish  or  so  before 
it  disappeared ;  at  the  same  time  his  mate  van- 
ished. Shortly  afterwards  I  took  a  shot  at  one 
who  was  blowing  about  two  hundred  yards  away 
on  the  port  quarter,  and  the  result  was  very  sat- 
isfactory— to  the  whale. 

They  were  of  the  sperm  variety,  and  blew  a 
small  cloud  of  what  looked  at  a  little  distance  like 
white  smoke  or  steam.  The  two  big  ones  that 
came  so  near  were  at  least  seventy  feet  long. 
This  being  my  first  peep  at  a  whale,  and  such  an 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND   CAPE  HORN.  ^ 

exceptionally  good  one,  I  must  mark  the  day  down 
as  a  red-letter  one. 

The  voyage  from  the  United  States  or  England 
to  San  Francisco  is  divided  by  mariners  into  five 
parts :  first,  from,  say  Philadelphia,  to  the  equator 
in  the  Atlantic ;  second,  from  the  equator  to  the 
fiftieth  degree  of  latitude  south  ;  third,  thence  to 
the  fiftieth  degree  south,  in  the  Pacific ;  fourth,  to 
the  equator ;  and,  fifth,  to  San  Francisco.  The 
first  of  these  stretches  we  have  completed,  having 
crossed  the  equator  on  Tuesday  morning,  about 
eight  o'clock,  after  a  run  of  four  thousand  and 
fifty-five  miles  in  twenty-seven  and  one-half  days, 
being  an  average  of  one  hundred  and  forty-seven 
and  one-half  miles  a  day,  or  about  six  and  one- 
eighth  knots  an  hour.  For  the  season  the  run  is 
a  very  good  one,  and  the  captain  is  much  pleased. 
According  to  ancient  lore  I  am  now  a  member  of 
Father  Neptune's  large  family  by  virtue  of  having 
crossed  the  line.  I  had  always  imagined  the 
equator,  at  sea,  to  be  a  place  where  perpetual 
calms  reigned,  and  the  mercury  never  sank  below 
1 00°.  This  idea  was  rather  upset  by  seeing  us 
run  over  on  a  cool  day,  before  a  stiff  breeze,  and 
the  sea  high  enough  to  keep  the  spray  flying  in 
clouds  over  our  bow.  On  leaving  the  "line" 
astern  we  also  bid  farewell  for  a  time  to  the  North 
Star,  and  expect  again  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  his 
twinkle  about  the  first  week  in  October. 

4* 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

And  now  to  tell  you  how  we  work  and  play. 
The  captain,  in  the  first  place,  is  lord  paramount ; 
he  stands  no  watch,  does  just  as  he  chooses,  and 
is  of  course  unaccountable  to  any  one  on  board. 
His  word  is  law,  and  he  must  be  obeyed  without 
a  question  in  everything ;  he  has  the  power  to 
turn  his  officers  off  duty,  and  even  to  break  them 
and  make  them  do  sailors'  work  and  live  in  the 
fo'castle,  so  that  to  ship  with  a  tyrannical  skipper 
generally  insures  both  officers  and  men  a  disa- 
greeable time  of  it. 

Captain  C ,  however,  is  anything  but  a  ty- 
rant, although  he  keeps  the  ship  under  strict  dis- 
cipline. He  spends  his  time  about  as  follows : 
rising  very  early,  he  goes  on  deck  and  talks  over 
the  night's  work  with  the  officer  on  watch.  Di- 
rectly after  breakfast  he  winds  all  the  chronome- 
ters and  clocks,  and  takes  a  sight  for  longitude. 
During  the  morning  he  overlooks  the  sail-makers, 
takes  other  sights  for  longitude,  writes  the  official 
log  for  the  previous  night,  and  at  noon  takes  an 
observation  for  latitude.  Just  as  the  sun  reaches 
the  meridian  he  orders  eight  bells  to  be  struck, 
and  then  the  clocks  are  regulated  for  the  day. 
All  other  hours  are  struck  on  the  authority  of  the 
clock  in  the  binnacle,  but  at  noon  the  man  at  the 
wheel  must  wait  the  captain's  word.  Dinner,  at 
quarter-past  twelve  o'clock,  being  over,  he  marks 
off  the  ship's  position  on  the  charts  and  lays  out 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 

her  course  for  the  following  day.  In  the  afternoon 
he  is  generally  on  deck  for  an  hour  or  two,  and  the 
rest  of  the  time  reading  in  his  cabin.  After  supper 
(5.30  P.M.)  we  sit  out  on  deck  till  about  nine  or 
half-past  nine  o'clock,  and  then  turn  in,  before 
which  the  captain  always  writes  up  the  log  for  the 
day  and  also  his  private  journal.  About  once  a 
week  he  goes  all  over  the  ship  on  a  tour  of  inspec- 
tion. 

The  first  mate,  or  the  mate,  as  he  is  always 
called,  par  excellence,  is  the  prime  minister  of  the 
vessel's  government.  He  attends  to  the  allotting 
of  all  work,  sees  that  it  is  properly  done,  and 
when  not  on  deck  leaves  his  orders  to  be  carried 
out  by  the  second  mate's  watch.  While  below,  he 
reads  in  the  daytime,  and  only  sleeps  at  night, 
averaging  about  five  hours'  sleep  a  day  from  Phil- 
adelphia to  "  Frisco."  The  mate  also  keeps  the 
ship-log,  and  attends  to  the  reception  and  delivery 
of  the  cargo.  Like  the  captain,  he  takes  obser- 
vations, and  keeps  a  separate  set  of  charts  for  his 
own  private  use. 

The  second  mate's  berth  is  a  sort  of  semi-re- 
sponsible one, — he  is  neither  officer  nor  foremast- 
man,  but  half-way  between  the  two.  The  crew 
have  a  very  little  respect  for  his  position,  and  call 
him  "  the  sailors'  waiter,"  on  account  of  his  having 
to  serve  them  with  yarn,  twine,  marline-spikes,  etc., 
of  which  he  has  charge.  He  is  expected  by  the 


44  A    LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

captain  to  preserve  his  dignity  with  the  men,  and 
at  the  same  time  is  looked  down  upon  by  the  mate, 
and  forced  to  work  with  the  crew,  not  being  ex- 
empt from  plunging  his  hands  into  the  tar-pot,  or 
laying  aloft  to  furl  or  reef  the  topsails.  His  state- 
room is  in  the  cabin,  but  he  takes  his  meals  with  the 
carpenter  at  the  second  table,  which  is  served  in  the 
same  cabin  where  the  captain,  mate,  and  passengers 
take  their  meals,  but  not  until  they  are  finished. 

"  Chips"  is  a  most  necessary  person  on  board, 
and  is  hard  at  work  from  morning  till  night  mend- 
ing battens,  making  blocks,  calking  seams,  etc. 
As  he  works  all  day  he  is  exempt  from  night  duty, 
and  is  only  called  in  case  all  hands  are  needed,  as 
when  we  tack  ship.  Besides  his  regular  carpenter- 
work  he  attends  to  the  distribution  of  fresh  water 
every  morning,  and  to  putting  out  the  side-lights 
each  evening  at  sunset ;  it  is  also  his  duty  to  test 
the  well  morning  and  evening,  to  see  how  much 
water  the  ship  is  making. 

The  steward  and  cook  will  both  come  in  next 
week,  when  a  masterly  essay  on  "Our  Cuisine" 
will  form  the  chief  feature  of  the  entry.  The 
crew  are  divided  into  two  watches  of  eight  men 
each,  each  watch  living  in  a  separate  fo'castle. 
The  port  watch  is  commanded  by  the  mate,  and 
the  starboard  by  the  second  mate.  Between  these 
two  watches  the  time  is  divided  into  alternate 
stretches  of  four  hours  on  duty  and  "below."  If, 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 

for  instance,  the  port  watch  has  the  deck  in  the 
first  night-watch,  from  eight  to  twelve,  at  the  end 
of  the  four  hours  they  go  below,  and  the  star- 
board watch  come  on  duty.  They  hold  the  deck 
till  4  A.M.,  when  the  port  again  turn  out,  and  so  it 
goes  from  day  to  day,  and  week  to  week,  all  the 
way  to  California,  thus  making  it  impossible  to 
get  more  than  three  and  a  half  hours'  sleep  at  one 
time.  In  order  to  shift  the  hours  each  night  the 
watch  from  4  P.M.  to  8  P.M.  is  split  into  two  parts 
of  two  hours  each,  called  the  first  and  second  dog- 
watches ;  by  means  of  these  the  officer  who  has 
the  middle  watch  (or  from  12  to  4  A.M.)  one  night 
will  be  below  those  hours  the  next.  The  watches 
have  their  meals  as  follows :  at  5  A.M.  the  watch 
on  deck  have  hot  coffee,  and  their  breakfast  at  8 
A.M.,  when  they  go  below.  The  watch  that  turn 
out  at  that  hour  (8  A.M.)  get  theirs  at  7.30,  dinner 
at  11.30  and  12,  tea  at  5  and  6  P.M.  It  is  a  pop- 
ular mistake  that  sailors  lead  an  idle  life  at  sea. 
When  on  duty  they  are  never  unemployed  for  a 
moment,  and  are  even  forbidden  to  talk  together. 
It  is  said  that  "  a  ship,  like  a  lady's  watch,  is  always 
in  need  of  repairs,"  and  that  just  about  strikes  it. 
To  make  these  repairs  the  watch  on  duty  are 
scattered  all  over  the  ship,  high  and  low,  fore  and 
aft,  with  supplies  of  yarn  and  wire,  fixing  battens 
on  and  mending  chafing-gear.  Some  are  painting 
the  iron-work,  and  others  spinning  "spun  yarn," 


,5  A    LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

so  that  the  vessel  always  looks  as  busy  as  a  bee- 
hive. Some  of  the  work  they  do,  such  as  splicing 
ropes  and  plaiting  sennit  and  mats,  is  very  inter- 
esting. Each  man  has  his  regular  "trick"  or  turn 
at  the  wheel  in  two-hour  stretches,  also  on  the 
lookout  at  night,  which  is  set  at  sundown.  When 
pulling  on  the  ropes  one  man  always  sings  out 
just  before  the  tug,  thus  insuring  a  uniform  pull. 
Each  chap  has  his  own  peculiar  cry  or  exclama- 
tion for  such  times,  and  when  there  are  three  or 
four  such  parties  making  sail  in  different  parts  of 
the  ship  the  assortment  of  yells  and  grunts  is 
very  comical.  The  effect  at  such  a  time  from  in- 
side the  cabin  would  lead  any  one  to  suspect  that 
a  pitched  battle  was  going  on  overhead,  did  they 
not  know  the  cause  of  the  rumpus.  One  fellow 
always  yells,  "  Pull  for  a  breeze  now !"  no  matter 
whether  it  is  dead  calm  or  the  ship  making  twelve 
knots.  Another's  favorite  remark  is,  "  Now,  jam 
her  down!"  Another's,  "  Ahyoualtogethernow- 
boys !"  but  the  majority  use  an  indiscriminate 
mass  of  ohs  and  ahs,  and  groans  and  grunts, 
which  go  to  make  a  semi-dismal  noise,  which  at 
night  has  a  queer  effect.  Saturday  nights  the 
"  slop-chest,"  or  store-room,  is  opened,  and  the 
men  buy  what  clothes,  boots,  tobacco,  etc.,  they 
may  want,  paying  very  high  prices,  and  having 
the  amount  charged  against  their  wages  at  the 
end  of  the  voyage.  (They  get  on  this  voyage 


HIS   VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN.  47 

fifteen  dollars  per  month.)  On  Sundays  no  labor 
is  done,  except  what  is  needed  to  work  the  ship, 
and  the  men  sit  about  smoking,  reading,  and 
mending  their  clothes.  Here,  in  fine-weather  re- 
gions, the  men  have  a  comparatively  easy  time  of 
it,  although  the  officers  order  them  about  like  so 
many  dogs,  and  the  hardships  of  the  voyage  are 
still  to  come. 

There  are  some  great  names  among  the  crew, — 
a  Byron,  a  Scott,  a  Nelson,  and  the  ship's  boy 
boasts  the  proud  title  of  Washington.  He  is 
about  seventeen,  and  is  in  the  mate's  watch,  where 
his  principal  duty  consists  of  small  jobs  like  plait- 
ing short  yarns  and  picking  over  the  potatoes  for 
bad  ones.  This  ends  the  crew,  and  brings  me  to 
the  passengers. 

As  etiquette  rules  that  age  shall  always  precede 

beauty,  I  first  describe  the  way  Mr.  X ,  my 

fellow-passenger,  passes  the  time.  I  have  not  as 
yet  said  anything  about  him  in  this  journal,  be- 
cause I  wanted  to  know  him  better  before  jotting 
down  my  opinion. 

A  month,  however,  has  passed  since  first  we 
met,  and  has  been  enough  to  familiarize  me  with 

his  habits.     Mr.  X is  tall,  with  light  hair  and 

moustache,  and  is  on  the  whole  rather  good  look- 
ing. He  is  going  to  California  to  take  up  business 
there,  and  having  lots  of  time,  adopted  this  way 
of  getting  there.  It  certainly  was  from  no  love 


48  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

of  the  sea  that  he  made  the  passage,  as  he  takes 
no  interest  whatever  in  anything  about  the  ship, 
very  seldom  goes  aloft,  and  never  talks  on  any 
subject  connected  with  the  vessel.  His  three 
great  amusements  are  sleeping,  reading  the  "New 
York  Weekly"  (of  which  paper  he  has  several 
hundred  copies  at  least),  and  singing  or  humming 
sentimental  songs  of  the  "  Molly  Darling"  and 
"  See  that  my  Grave  's  kept  Green"  order.  He 
is  quite  unable  to  take  any  joking,  and  often  has 
little  "  tiffs"  with  the  captain  and  mate, — the  latter 
loving  to  tease  him.  However,  we  get  along  to- 
gether without  a  jar,  and  are  always  very  friendly. 
To  me  time  passes  very  quickly,  and  the  days 
flash  past  like  magic ;  from  morning  till  night  I 
am  climbing  about  in  the  rigging,  and  can  travel 
up  and  down  the  mast  like  smoke.  I  have  pretty 
well  mastered  the  names  of  all  ropes  and  spars, 
and  can  prattle  ship  beautifully.  The  charts  are 
very  interesting  to  me,  and  I  am  always  about 
when  they  are  being  overhauled  and  brought  up 
to  date.  Then  I  spend  an  hour  or  two  every  day 
in  the  carpenter-shop  whittling  and  talking,  and 
have  so  far  done  but  little  reading,  really  not  find- 
ing time  to  spare  for  it.  I  can  imagine  nothing 
more  bracing  or  health-giving  than  a  voyage  like 
this,  and  with  a  party  of  one's  friends  it  would  be 
perfection.  I  enjoy  every  minute  of  the  day,  and 
sleep  like  a  top  at  night,  retiring  at  the  very  re- 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 


49 


spectable  hour  of  9.30  P.M.  Often  in  the  evening 
we  have  music  served  up  by  the  captain's  hand- 
some eight-tune  box  ;  we  are  also  provided  with 
musical  instruments,  in  the  shape  of  the  second 
mate's  before-mentioned  two-stringed  violin,  and 
a  mouth-organ  run  to  seed,  the  property  of  the 
captain.  My  fellow-passenger's  rendering  of  "Sil- 
ver Threads  among  the  Gold"  on  the  latter  in- 
strument is  calculated  to  thrill  an  anchorite.  Two 
canary-birds  also  contribute  their  voices  to  the 
musical  department,  and  the  cat  and  kitten  often 
give  short  evening  concerts  on  the  main  deck. 
To  swing  in  the  hammock  is  another  of  the  simple 
and  innocent  amusements  of  the  passengers,  and 
on  these  perfect  moonlight  evenings  here  in  the 
tropics  it  would  be  delightful  to  sleep  in  one  on 
deck  were  it  not  for  the  heavy  dew  that  falls  after 
sunset.  I  had  thought  I  would  greatly  miss  the 
newspapers,  but  I  never  give  them  a  thought ; 
the  feeling  that  it  is  of  no.  use  wishing  for  them 
goes  a  great  way  towards  making  one  resigned 
to  doing  without. 


A  LANDLUBBER'S  LOG   OF 


Table  for  week  ending  Attgust  17. 

August  ii. — Lat.  12°  42'  S.  Run — 181  miles. 

Lon.  33°  48'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  81°. 

Weather  beautiful.     Sea  very  smooth. 

August  12. — Lat.  14°  38'  S.  Run — 118  miles. 

Lon.  33°  51'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  84°. 

Weather  beautiful.     Sea  smooth.     Light  airs  all  day. 

August  13. — Lat.  15°  52'  S.  Run — 79  miles. 

Lon.  34°  28'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  80°. 

Weather  very  fine.     Sea  still  smooth.     Short  calms  during  the  day. 

August  14. — Lat.  17°  55'  S.  Run — 146  miles. 

Lon.  35°  52'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  76°. 

Weather  beautiful.     Sounded  on  S.E.  end  of  Hotspur  Bank  at  P.M. : 
thirty-one  fathoms,  coral  and  shell  bottom. 

August  15. — Lat.  20°  19'  S.  Run — 199  miles. 

Lon.  38°  05/  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  74°. 

Weather  fine.     Dry  squalls  and  stiff'  breezes.     Slight  shower  at  9  A.M. 
Sea  very  rough.     Ship  pitching  badly. 

August  1 6. — Lat.  23°  19'  S.  Run — 203  miles. 

Lon.  40°  oo'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  72°. 

Squally  all  night.     Thick  and  misty  all  day. 

August  17. — Lat.  25°  46'  S.  Run — 181  miles. 

Lon.  45°  53X  W.  Temp,  at  n  x/n,  72°. 

Weather  beautiful.     Shower  in  afternoon. 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 


•y. 

AT  SEA,  SUNDAY,  August  17. 

ANOTHER,  and  the  sixth  continuous  week  of  de- 
lightful weather.  The  evenings  are,  however,  not 
quite  so  pleasant  as  heretofore  on  account  of  the 
very  heavy  dew,  that  wets  everything  as  though  a 
shower  had  fallen,  but,  being  very  salt,  is  not  likely 
to  give  one  cold.  The  week  would  have  been 
without  incident  but  for  one  occurrence,  which 
was,  however,  of  enough  importance  to  interest 
us  for  several  days.  This  was  our  overtaking  the 
"  Joseph  S.  Spinney"  (the  rival  ship  I  mentioned 
Sunday,  August  3),  which  we  consider  quite  a 
feather  in  our  good  ship's  cap. 

August  ii. — At  7  A.M.  a  sail  was  reported 
ahead,  visible  from  the  foretop-gallant  yard.  By 
noon  it  could  be  seen  from  the  lower  topsail  yard, 
and  through  the  glass  was  made  out  to  be  a  large 
ship  bound  the  same  way  as  ourselves.  This 
news  set  the  captain  looking  over  the  list  of  ships 
bound  for  San  Francisco,  and  he  at  length  de- 
clared it  must  be  either  the  "Spinney"  or  the  "H. 
S.  Gregory,"  another  large  ship  that  sailed  from 
New  York  a  week  or  ten  days  before  we  passed 
out  of  the  Capes.  So  sure  was  he  that  he  was 
right  that  he  offered  to  bet  five  dollars  to  one 


A  LANDLUBBER'S  LOG   OF 

that  it  would  prove  one  vessel  or  the  other.  1 
took  the  odds. 

August  12. — At  daylight  the  stranger  was  in 
sight  from  deck,  hull  down,  and  all  that  day  we 
slowly  overtook  her,  spreading  everything  that 
would  draw,  and  keeping  the  men  busy  from  day- 
light to  dark  bracing  and  squaring  the  yards  as  the 
breeze  hauled  one  way  or  the  other.  At  sunset 
our  rival  was  about  six  miles  ahead  over  the  lee 
bow. 

August  13. — At  sunrise  she  lay  in  the  same 
position,  only  some  three  miles  ahead.  At  eight 
bells  she  hoisted  her  signals,  which,  to  Captain 
C 's  great  delight,  proved  her  to  be  the  "Spin- 
ney." We  then  ran  ours  up,  to  which  she  replied 
by  saying,  "  Come  alongside."  This  we  took  to 
be  a  bit  of  sarcasm  ;  but  she  was  in  earnest,  and, 
backing  her  main  yard,  came  to  a  stop.  As  we 
drew  rapidly  up  she  signalled  that  she  would  send 
a  boat  for  our  captain  to  come  on  board  in.  Cap- 
tain hoisted,  "  Shall  I  bring  passengers  ?"  to  which 

the  "Spinney"  replied,  "Yes;"  but  Mr.  X 

declined  to  accompany  us.  By  this  time  we  were 
within  half  a  mile  of  the  "  Spinney,"  and  had  met 
the  boat,  which  was  towing  alongside.  It  was 
leaking  badly,  and  one  man  had  to  keep  bailing- 
while  three  others  pulled, — this  was  about  half- 
past  10  A.M.  After  much  trouble  we  got  into  the 
gig,  and  towed  along  with  the  ship  until  we  were 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 

abreast  of  the  "  Spinney,"  some  five  hundred 
yards  to  leeward,  when  we  cast  off,  drifted  astern, 
and  pulled  for  the  other  ship.  From  the  deck  it 
had  looked  very  smooth,  but  the  contrast  between 
the  ship  and  the  little  cockle-shell  we  were  in  was 
so  great  that  the  long  swells  seemed  like  young 
mountains  as  we  rose  to  their  tops  or  sank  into 
the  trough.  From  the  gig  the  view  of  the  two 
ships,  both  with  all  sails  set,  was  extremely  beau- 
tiful. Five  minutes  or  so  and  the  boat  reached  the 
"  Spinney,"  bringing  up  under  her  lee-quarter.  I 
scrambled  on  board  by  way  of  the  channels  and 
shrouds,  and  the  captain  climbed  up  the  ladder. 
We  were  welcomed  by  Captain  Jordan  and  his 
family,  which  consisted  of  his  wife,  three  daughters, 
aged  about  nineteen,  twelve,  and  five,  and  his  son, 
seventeen  years  old.  After  being  introduced  all 
round,  I  went  all  over  the  ship  under  the  guidance 
of  young  lady  No.  i.  She  was  a  beautiful  vessel, 
and  being  some  eight  or  nine  hundred  tons  larger, 
made  the  "  Pactolus"  seem  quite  small. 

On  deck  there  were  a  number  of  chickens  strut- 
ting about,  all  blind  of  one  eye,  and  a  cute  little 
pig  lay  coiled  up  in  a  sunny  corner  fast  asleep. 
The  young  lady,  whose  name  was  Carrie,  was 
very  pretty  and  polite,  and  sang  for  me  that  beau- 
tiful vocal  gem,  "See  that  my  Grave's  kept  Green," 
in  so  sweet  and  touching  a  manner  that  I  felt 
quite  sorry  that  Mr.  X had  not  come  with  us, 


54 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG   OF 


that  song  being  one  of  his  star  performances. 
The  little  girl  also  favored  the  company  with 
music,  the  instrument  both  used  being  a  small 
parlor  organ.  After  the  concert  we  discussed 
"  Pinafore"  and  ate  raisins,  while  the  two  skippers 
talked  "  passage"  and  compared  notes.  At  three 
o'clock  we  sat  down  to  a  very  nice  dinner  of  clam- 
chowder,  lobster-salad,  corn,  peas,  and  potatoes, 
with  rice-pudding  and  cake  for  dessert,  also  sev- 
eral bottles  of  lager  beer,  which  was  prime.  Din- 
ner being  over,  young  Jordan  took  me  in  charge, 
and  showed  me  the  fo'castle  and  carpenter-shop, 
where  he  had  a  jig-saw.  As  a  proof  of  his  skill 
on  that  tool  he  made  me  a  paper-cutter,  which 
Miss  Carrie  decorated  with  a  chromo.  But  the 
most  wonderful  thing  about  the  ship  was  the 
assortment  of  cats  they  had  on  board.  There  were 
actually  twenty-eight  live  felines  of  every  color 
and  size,  from  a  jet-black  Tom  as  big  as  a  cat 
can  grow  to  a  little  white  kitten  with  its  eyes 
still  shut,  the  sole  survivor  of  a  recent  lot,  its 
brothers  and  sisters  having  been  tossed  over- 
board. Most  of  these  cats  were  kept  down  be- 
tween decks,  and  lived  on  rats,  of  which  there 
were  great  numbers.  This,  in  fact,  was  the  reason 
for  keeping  so  many,  and  it  was  an  experiment  of 
the  captain's,  the  rodents  having  heretofore  dam- 
aged a  great  deal  of  cargo.  Miss  Jordan  told  me 
that  often  at  nights  the  cats  made  a  terrible  racket, 


VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN.  5- 

which  is  easily  to  be  believed.  At  4.30  P.M.  we 
signalled  the  "  Pactolus"  to  back  her  main  yard 
and  wait  for  us,  she  being  then  some  two  miles 
ahead,  and  at  five  o'clock,  after  bidding  all  good- 
by,  and  wishing  them  a  pleasant  voyage,  the  cap- 
tain and  I  went  over  the  side  into  the  gig  again. 
Going  back  it  did  not  leak,  having  been  taken  on 
board  and  recalked  while  we  were  paying  our 
call.  We  had  some  trouble  getting  on  board  the 
"  Pactolus,"  and  only  did  so  after  getting  well  wet 
with  the  splashing  waves.  I  sent  Miss  J.  several 
novels  in  charge  of  the  boatswain  ;  the  two  ships 
then  each  dipped  the  American  flag  three  times 
and  stood  away  again.  The  "  Pactolus"  being- 
able  to  sail  much  nearer  the  wind  than  the  "Spin- 
ney," we  soon  drew  ahead  and  to  windward,  sun- 
set seeing  the  "  Spinney"  four  miles  astern  over 
the  lee  quarter. 

August  14. — At  sunrise  our  rival  bore  N.  by 
W.  eight  miles,  and  at  sunset  N.  by  W.  fifteen 
miles.  At  i  P.M.  we  sounded  on  the  eastern  edo^e 

o 

of  Hotspur  Bank,  a  large  sunken  coral  reef  from 
twenty-five  to  seventy  fathoms  under  water,  and 
fourteen  by  ten  miles  in  extent.  Our  line  ran  out 
thirty-one  fathoms,  and  the  lead,  which  had  some 
soap  stuck  to  its  bottom  for  the  purpose,  brought 
up  a  few  bits  of  coral  and  shells  and  a  blade  or 
two  of  sea-grass. 

The  fishing   on    this   bank   is  very  fine,  great 


56  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

numbers  of  a  species  of  cod  frequenting  it,  but  we 
were  going  too  rapidly  to  attempt  capturing  any. 
August  15  and  16. — Shifted  our  old  sails  for 
new  and  stronger  ones, — a  ship,  queer  as  it 
sounds,  wearing  her  best  clothes  in  the  worst 
weather.  As  they  are  taken  down  the  old  sails 
are  brought  on  the  roof  of  the  after-house  and 
thoroughly  overhauled  and  mended  before  being 
put  away  in  the  sail-locker,  from  whence  they  will 
be  pulled  out  to  be  again  bent  on  when  we  strike 
the  fine  weather  the  other  side  of  Cape  Horn. 
Two  sail-makers  are  generally  employed  at  this 
job  of  patching  and  repairing  sails.  They  are 
members  of  the  crew,  one  being-  chosen  from  each 

1  o 

watch,  and  while  thus  employed  work  all  day  and 
sleep  all  night,  instead  of  turning  in  and  out  with 
their  respective  watches. 

August  1 7. — This  evening  a  very  large  flying- 
fish  flew  on  board,  striking  the  house  at  the  miz- 
zen  shrouds.  It  measured  over  thirteen  inches 
in  length,  and  its  wings  had  a  spread  of  fifteen 
inches, — I  have  put  them  in  a  book  to  press. 

Through  the  influence  of  various  sea  stories  I 
have  read,  my  idea  of  a  ship's  bill  of  fare  was  salt 
beef,  salt  pork,  onions,  and  hard  bread  full  of 
weevils.  Like  many  other  of  my  landlubber  no- 
tions, this  has  been  dispelled,  and  none  more 
pleasantly.  In  the  fo'castle,  it  is  true,  salt  beef 
and  pork  are  very  extensively  eaten,  but  in  the 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN.  57 

cabin,  if  one  does  not  like  those  delicacies  he  need 
not  touch  them,  and  still  not  suffer  from  hunger 
or  want  of  variety.  Our  hours  for  meals  are: 
breakfast,  seven  bells  (7.30  A.M.)  ;  dinner,  a  little, 
after,  eight  bells  (12  M.),  and  tea  at  three  bells 
(5.30  P.M.).  They  are  served  in  the  forward  cabin, 
the  table  seating  four,  and  having  in  its  centre  a 
patent  swinging-table  that  prevents  what  is  placed 
on  it  from  upsetting.  The  captain  and  I  sit  on 

the  starboard  side,   Mr.  X and  the  mate  on 

the  port.  For  breakfast  we  always  have  coffee, 
hot  biscuit,  and  a  dish  of  oatmeal,  cornmeal,  or 
cracked  hominy,  eaten  with  molasses  or  honey, 
and  some  hot  relishes,  such  as  salt  fish,  ham, 
corned  beef-hash,  etc.,  with  boiled  potatoes.  Each 
day  has  its  regular  dinner.  Monday,  pea-soup, 
corned  beef,  potatoes,  dried  peas  boiled  soft. 
Tuesday  and  Friday  a  Yankee  menu,  bean-soup, 
pork  and  beans,  potatoes,  and  hot  Boston  brown 
bread.  Wednesday,  clam-chowder,  boiled  rice, 
and  some  canned  meat  with  curry  dressing,  rice- 
pudding  for  dessert.  Thursday,  beef-soup,  canned 
roast  beef,  potatoes,  and  canned  peas  or  beans, 
plum-duff  (which  may  be  pronounced  plum  tough), 
served  with  butter  and  sugar  sauce.  Saturday, 
codfish,  potatoes,  canned  tomatoes.  Sunday,  va- 
rious kinds  of  soups  are  chosen  from,  also  a 
weekly  change  in  the  selection  of  meat  and  pota- 
toes, corn  and  macaroni,  plum-duff  for  dessert. 


58  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

Duff  is  a  kind  of  bread  sweetened,  stuck  full  of 
raisins,  and  cooked  in  a  mould.  It  is  served  hot, 
and  is  highly  indigestible.  I  eat  the  sauce,  which 
the  steward  makes  very  well,  on  bread  instead  of 
the  duff.  On  the  days  that  I  have  put  down  no 
dessert  we  generally  have  pie,  corn-starch  some- 
times turning  up  for  a  change.  Tea  is  my  favorite 
meal ;  it  is  made  up  of  tea,  toast,  baked  or  fried 
potatoes,  and  one  of  the  following  relishes :  her- 
ring, sardines,  canned  corn-beef,  or  potted  ham  ; 
also,  some  kind  of  stewed  dried  fruit,  and  cake  or 
doughnuts.  Our  butter  is  excellent,  the  only 
drawback  being  its  softness.  The  water,  although 
in  these  regions  a  trifle  warm,  is  clear  and  good. 
Besides  what  I  have  mentioned,  there  is  generally 
a  plate  of  cold  salt  beef  and  pork,  cut  in  thin 
slices,  on  the  table  for  those  who  wish  it.  Once 
in  a  while  I  take  a  slice  of  the  beef,  but  don't  in- 
tend to  even  nibble  the  pork.  After  tea  a  plate 
of  this  meat  and  some  bread  is  put  on  the  table 
for  the  officers  of  the  night-watches  should  they 
feel  hungry.  On  ship,  as  on  shore,  Saturday  is 
marketing  day,  and  that  afternoon  the  steward 
comes  to  the  captain  for  the  week's  supply  of 
canned  goods,  coffee,  tea,  etc.  These  are  kept  in 
a  big  locker  under  the  poop-deck,  and  I  often 
creep  in  with  the  steward,  and  together  we  hatch 
up  little  plots  concerning  the  Sunday  dinners. 
The  steward  does  all  the  baking,  and  is  quite  a 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 


59 


dabster  at  it.  His  biscuit,  bread,  cake,  and  pie- 
crust are  all  excellent,  and  his  doughnuts  first- 
class.  Everything  else  is  prepared  by  the  cook, 
who  serves  things  smoking  hot  and  perfectly 
clean,  which  is  not  the  way  with  all  ship's  cooks. 
The  Celestials  are  a  queer  couple,  and  it  is  very 
amusing  to  hear  them  chattering  together.  The 
cook  is  a  great  singer,  and  warbles  away  over  his 
work  like  a  bird,  only  he  never  changes  the  tune, 
which  isn't  particularly  captivating.  Both  can  talk 
some  little  English,  the  steward  being  the  most 
easily  understood.  The  cook  is  a  little  bit  of  a 
chap,  fifty  years  old,  is  minus  his  cue,  and  wears 
his  straight  black  hair  banged  all  around.  His 
parchment-like  skin  is  drawn  over  his  wizened 
little  face  as  tight  as  a  drum-head,  and  his  black 
eyes  twinkle  like  diamonds.  Sometimes  he  comes 
into  the  carpenter-shop  in  the  evenings  and  writes 
all  over  the  bench  in  Chinese  characters,  which 
he  tries  to  explain  to  us  in  pigeon-English,  always 
ending  up  with,  "You  savvy?"  He  is  very  fond 
of  the  cats,  which,  under  his  patronage,  have 
grown  so  fat  that  they  can  hardly  waddle  about. 
They  understand  Chinese  enough  to  always  run 
when  he  calls  out  some  unintelligible  gibberish, 
which  I  suppose  means  "  Come  to  dinner,  pussies." 
Chin  Lee,  the  steward,  is  about  thirty-five  years 
old,  and  has  thick  black  hair,  which  he  wears 
"  Melican  style ;"  his  skin  is  of  a  lighter  shade 


60  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

than  the  cook's.  He  has  control  of  the  pantry, 
waits  on  table,  keeps  the  cabin  in  order,  makes 
the  beds,  does  the  washing  for  captain  and  pas- 
sengers, and  takes  care  of  the  birds.  He  is  very 
neat,  and  keeps  the  cabins  spotlessly  clean,  seem- 
ing to  take  great  pride  in  doing  so.  He  is  never 
idle,  and  appears  to  thoroughly  enjoy  hard  work. 
As  I  said  before,  he  is  learning  to  read  and  write, 
and  is  very  proud  of  the  fact ;  still,  he  has  no  idea 
of  the  sound  of  a  word  from  its  appearance,  and 
only  knows  what  is  in  the  different  cans  and  jars 
by  experience  and  the  pictures  on  the  outside. 
The  other  day  he  came  to  me  with  a  tin  of  ground 
ginger,  and  said,  "  G-i-n-g-e-r, — mustard  ?"  I  told 
him  no,  that  didn't  spell  mustard,  and  then  wrote 
out  the  latter  word  on  a  slip  of  paper,  by  which 
means  he  found  what  he  wanted.  He  and  the  cook 
are  very  handy  and  ingenious,  turning  the  old  tin 
cans  into  cups  and  platters,  and  this  week  I  saw  the 
latter  make  a  first-rate  rolling-pin  out  of  a  bit  of 
kindling  wood.  Sometimes  they  cook  themselves 
a  bowl  of  rice,  and  eat  it  with  chop-sticks,  chatter- 
ing all  the  while  in  their  own  hopelessly  unintelli- 
gible jargon.  These  two  worthies  are  both  mar- 
ried men,  the  difference  being  that  the  steward 
spends  most  of  his  pay  for  rum,  while  Mr.  Cook, 
like  a  dutiful  husband,  sends  most  of  his  wages 
to  Mrs.  Cook,  who  is  one  of  the  few  Chinese 
women  who  live  in  New  York. 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN.  ftl 

In  the  fo'castle  the  bill  of  fare  of  course  differs 
from  that  in  the  cabin.  Salt  beef  and  pork,  hard 
bread  and  soft  bread,  potatoes,  and  coffee  go  to 
make  it  up.  Tuesday  and  Friday  they  also  have 
boiled  beans,  and  Thursday  and  Sunday  a  coarse 
kind  of  duff,  which  is  eaten  with  molasses.  This 
latter  dish  is  considered  the  treat  of  the  week, 
and  the  two  days  on  which  it  is  served  are  known 
to  the  sailors  as  "  duff  day,"  and  following-  the 
same  rule,  instead  of  speaking  of  Tuesday  or  Fri- 
day, they  say  "  bean  day."  Their  food  is  served 
in  large  pans,  which  one  of  the  watch  comes  to 
the  galley  after,  and  it  is  eaten  in  the  fo'castle, 
where  each  man  has  his  knife,  spoon,  and  plate, 
together  with  a  tin  cup  for  water  or  coffee.  These 
they  keep  clean  themselves.  The  salt  meats  are 
kept  in  a  large  barrel,  called  the  harness  cask, 
which  is  kept  on  deck  at  the  side  of  the  forward- 
house,  and  lashed  down.  The  codfish  is  stored 
in  a  chest  lashed  in  the  mizzentop,  which,  like 
the  main-  and  foretops,  is  in  the  "  Pactolus"  very 
large  and  roomy,  and  is  kept  there  so  as  to 
keep  it  thoroughly  aired.  It  is  the  boy's  work 
to  open  this  chest  every  Friday  morning  and 
get  out  the  fish  for  the  next  day's  use.  One  of 
the,  to  me,  strange  dishes  we  have  in  the  cabin 
is  called  "  tongues  and  sounds,"  being  the  tongues 
and  part  of  the  stomachs  of  the  codfish  put  up 
in  pickle.  It  tastes  like  very  strong  stewed  clams. 


62  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

One  trifling  drawback  to  the  pleasures  of  the 
table  is  the  generous  quantity  of  diminutive 
roaches  which  manage  to  come  to  an  untimely 
end  in  the  various  dishes  during  their  prepara- 
tion. At  first  this  feature  of  our  repast  was  a 
source  of  considerable  annoyance  to  me,  but 
after  wasting  a  good  deal  of  time  in  vain  efforts 
to  find  all  the  defunct  intruders  in  my  food,  I 
gave  up  hunting  for  them,  and  now  only  re- 
move them  when  they  appear  without  being 
looked  for.  They  swarm  in  the  galley  or  kitchen, 
although  the  cook  keeps  it  scrupulously  clean,  and 
the  cats  are  forever  catching  and  devouring  them, 
yet  the  supply  is  always  at  flood-tide,  and  the  cap- 
tain says  such  is  the  case  on  almost  every  vessel 
afloat. 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 


Table  for  week  ending  August  24. 

August  18. — Lat.  28°  41'  S.  Run — 255  miles. 

Lon.  45°  53'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  72°. 

Stiff  breezes.     Fine  day's  work.     Clear,  but  damp  and  disagreeable. 

August  19. — Lat.  30°  35'  S.  Run — 145  miles. 

Lon.  47°  38'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  69°. 

Gloomy  and  damp.     Veiy  rough  sea.     Brilliant  phosphorescent  display 
in  the  evening. 

August  20. — Lat.  33°  42'  S.  Run — 242  miles. 

Lon.  50°  38'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  63°. 

Wet  and  chilly.     Sea  much  lower.     Several  violent  squalls   day  and 
night. 

August  21. —  Lat.  35°  43'  S.  Run — 134  miles. 

Lon.  52°  21'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  72°. 

Warm  and  pleasant  till  2  P.M.     Afternoon  colder  and  damp.     Fierce 
squalls  and  calms  all  night,  with  terrible  thunder  and  lightning. 

August  22. — Lat.  37°  15'  S.  Run — 126  miles. 

Lon.  53°  56'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  52°. 

Strong  gale  from  4  to  8  A.M.     Cold  rain  all  day  till  four  o'clock,  when 
it  cleared.     Magnificent  scarlet  sunset. 

August  23. — Lat.  39°  46'  S.  Run — 165  miles. 

Lon.  54°  56'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  42°. 

Cold  and  raw.     Strong  winds.     Very  rough  sea,  washing  inboard. 

August  24. — Lat.  41°  I2r  S.  Run — 126  miles. 

Lon.  56°  01 '  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  42°. 

Quite  cold.     Clear  and  foggy  by  turns.     Thunder,  lightning,  and  calms 
in  afternoon. 


64  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 


"VI. 

AT  SEA,  SUNDAY,  August  24 

EXIT  fine  weather, — enter  assorted  bad.  What 
a  contrast  to  former  tables  is  that  for  the  past 
week!  I  suppose  the  phrase  "very  fine"  I  have 
so  constantly  used  hitherto  in  reference  to  the 
weather  must  at  last  be  shelved,  and  the  less 
pleasant  ones  used  in  the  preceding  table  reign 
in  its  stead  for  a  month  to  come.  Well,  we  can- 
not complain.  For  forty  days  we  have  enjoyed 
an  uninterrupted  run  of  beautiful  weather,  not  a 
single  evening  of  the  six  weeks  being  spent  in 
the  cabin ;  in  fact,  I  had  almost  forgotten  that 
there  were  such  drawbacks  to  a  sea-voyage  as 
storms,  and  had  begun  to  think  the  stories  of 
gales,  deafening  thunder-squalls,  and  other  terrors 
of  wind  and  weather  mere  romancing.  Since  last 

o 

Monday,  however,  I've  seen  enough  to  convince 
me  of  their  truthfulness,  therefore  it  is  not  par- 
ticularly cheering  to  hear  that  I  may  expect  much 
worse  from  here  all  the  way  round  the  Cape,  but 
without  the  thunder  and  lightning  accompaniment, 
for  which  thank  heaven.  The  week  has  been  full 
of  incident,  as  its  record  will  show. 

August  18. — While  ploughing  along  through 
a  heavy  head  sea  we  passed  close  to  a  small 
schooner  of  about  one  hundred  or  two  hundred 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 

tons.  This  little  craft  was  bound  from  Havre  to 
the  river  Platte,  and  was  the  "John  N.  Colby,"  of 
Stonington,  Connecticut,  a  real  specimen  of  Yan- 
kee grit, — grit  it  was  to  come  down  here  in  her, 
for  although  a  fine  day,  and  to  us  only  a  good 
breeze,  the  schooner  was  pitching  like  a  cork 
under  shortened  sail,  and  almost  every  wave 
splashed  over  her  rail. 

August  19. — During  breakfast  a  commotion 
was  heard  on  deck,  and  on  going  out  the  second 
mate  reported  having  seen  a  drifting  wreck 
through  a  rift  in  the  fog,  which  was  hanging  in  a 
thick  bank  right  across  our  course.  I  went  for- 
ward on  the  jib-boom  with  a  pair  of  glasses,  but 
could  see  nothing  through  the  mist.  Just  as  a 
lookout  was  starting  to  go  aloft  the  fog  cleared 
away,  an-d  about  half  a  mile  ahead,  almost  in  our 
track,  lay  the  wreck.  Altering  our  course  a  point 
we  stood  for  her,  and  backing  the  main  yard  as 
we  came  up,  stopped  within  one  hundred  feet  of 
her.  She  was  the  Swedish  brig  "  Oscar  II.,"  of 
about  four  hundred  tons,  and  her  captain,  the  beau 
ideal  of  a  weather-beaten  old  sea-dog,  told  us  in 
broken  English  she  had  been  totally  dismasted  in 
a  pampero  off  the  Rio  Grande  de  Sul,  a  small 
river  leading  to  a  town  of  the  same  name,  which 
is  situated  on  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Bra- 
zilian coast.  The  pamperos  are  very  violent 
squalls  that  come  rushing  out  of  the  rivers  along 

e  6* 


66  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

these  coasts,  with  little  or  no  warning,  and  are 
much  dreaded  by  sailors. 

On  the  brig  everything  was  in  disorder,  the 
decks  being  heaped  with  tangled  rigging  and 
broken  spars.  All  her  boats,  except  a  small  gig, 
were  stove  in  and  useless,  Two  low  jury-masts, 
one  about  twenty  feet  high  the  other  only  ten,  on 
each  of  which  was  spread  an  old  sail,  had  been 
rigged  up,  and  under  this  sorry  display  of  canvas 
the  hulk  was  making  for  Rio  Janeiro,  there  to 
refit.  We  offered  the  captain  new  spars,  or  any 
other  help  he  might  want,  but  he  thanked  us  and 
declined,  saying  that  as  the  wind  was  fair  he 
hoped  to  make  port  in  a  few  days.  Wishing  him 
a  safe  journey,  a  courtesy  he  returned,  we  squared 
away,  and  soon  the  "Oscar  II."  was  out  of  sight 
astern.  She  was  then  over  four  hundred  miles 
from  Rio,  and  should  she  have  any  but  fair  winds 
and  weather  it  will  go  hard  with  her.  This  event 
made  a  great  stir  among  the  crew,  who  thronged 
up  into  the  rigging  so  as  to  get  a  better  look. 
Wednesday  was  damp  and  gloomy  ;  we  were  on 
soundings,  and  the  sea  had  lost  its  blue  color,  being 
of  a  dirty-green  shade,  caused  by  the  shoal  water, 
and  also  the  effects  of  the  outflowing  current  from 
the  great  river  Platte,  which  at  its  mouth  is  over 
a  hundred  miles  wide.  Here  the  winds  surge  in 
and  out  as  from  a  pair  of  huge  bellows,  making 
the  neighborhood  most  dangerous  for  vessels  of 


HIS   VOYAGE  AROUND   CAPE  HORN.  67 

all  kinds.     It  is  the  headquarters   of  the   pam- 
peros. 

The  Rio  de  la  Plata,  to  give  the  "  Platte"  its  full 
and  correct  name,  is  the  second  river  of  South 
America,  and  is  translated  "  River  of  Silver."  Dur- 
ing the  day  we  were  for  the  first  time  surrounded 
by  a  number  of  Cape  pigeons,  beautiful  birds  with 
white  bodies,  black  heads,  and  mottled  wings. 
They  are  just  the  size  of  an  ordinary  pigeon  (but 
are  not  of  that  species,  being  so  called  from  their 
resemblance),  and  have  the  most  graceful  flight  of 
any  bird  I  ever  saw,  never  seeming  to  flap  their 
wings,  but  floating  up  and  down  on  the  breeze  as 
they  sweep  in  graceful  curves  all  about  the  ship, 
especially  in  the  wake ;  they  often  settle  in  the 
water,  where  they  look  like  little  ducks.  In  the 
evening  the  phosphorescent  display  was  beautiful 
beyond  description.  The  sky  was  as  black  as  the 
ace  of  spades,  being  completely  overcast,  and  a 
rough  cross-sea  was  breaking  on  our  quarter.  As 
the  ship  plunged  along  at  the  rate  of  ten  knots 
before  a  stiff  breeze  from  the  northeast,  throwing 
the  waves  aside  from  her  bows,  the  foam  came 
floating  astern  on  either  side  in  great  patches, 
which  glimmered  like  pale-green  fire.  On  the 
weather-quarter,  every  few  minutes  a  great  sea 
would  rise  in  a  cone,  hissing  and  sparkling  above 
the  level  of  the  rail,  as  though  to  sweep  in  and 
swamp  us,  and  then  fall  back  into  the  trough 


68  A    LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

broken  into  a  mass  of  seething  foam,  and  literally 
blazing  with  the  phosphorescent  flame.  Far  and 
near  the  surface  of  the  ocean  was  glistening,  as 
the  waves  curled  and  broke,  or  meeting  together 
threw  the  bright  spray  up  against  the  gloomy 
background  of  the  sky.  In  our  wake  the  water, 
churned  to  a  depth  of  twenty  feet,  gleamed  in  a 
broad  dim  line  for  several  hundred  yards,  and, 
to  add  to  the  beauty  of  the  scene,  a  school  of  por- 
poises played  about  the  ship,  looking  like  meteors 
as  they  swiftly  scudded  about  some  fathoms  be- 
neath the  surface.  Towards  eleven  o'clock  the 
sea  gradually  lost  its  extra  brilliancy,  and  soon 
the  usual  whitish  foam  sprinkled  with  bright  sparks 
was  all  that  remained  of  this  wonderful  display  of 
submarine  fireworks. 

August  21. — This  morning,  unlike  the  early 
part  of  the  week,  was  warm  and  sultry,  the  sun 
coming  up  clear ;  at  nine  o'clock  the  breeze  died 
away,  leaving  us  becalmed,  in  which  condition  we 
lay  until  1.30.  I  took  this  opportunity,  and  man- 
aged to  get  up  on  the  main  royal  yard,  the  high- 
est possible  perch  on  board.  In  descending  1 
slid  down  the  port  royal  backstay  to  the  topmast 
cross-trees,  then  down  the  top-gallant  backstay  to 
the  level  of  the  top ;  here  I  swung  out  my  legs 
over  the  weather  cross-jack  brace,  and  pulled  it 
towards  me  until  I  could  catch  it  with  both  hands; 
by  means  of  this  I  went  hand  over  hand  to  the 


ff/S    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 


69 


cross-jack,  pulled  myself  up  on  it,  and  went  into 
the  mizzen-mast  just  under  the  top ;  from  here  I 
reached  deck  by  sliding  down  the  lower  mizzen 
topsail-sheets,  thus  reaching-  deck  from  the  mast- 
head without  touching  the  shrouds,  as  the  rope- 
ladders  are  called. 

During  the  forenoon  a  bottle  drifted  past  us, 
tightly  sealed  and  covered  with  barnacles  ;  it  had 
probably  been  thrown  from  some  vessel  a  long 
time  back.  To  mv  intense  disgust  it  was  out  of 

•  ••  o 

reach,  and  I  saw  it  disappear  astern  without  hav- 
ing the  pleasure  of  solving  the  mystery  of  its 
contents.  We  also  saw  the  carcass  of  a  whale, 
from  which  the  blubber  had  been  cut.  Both  the 
captain  and  the  mate  said  they  were  distrustful 
of  the  calm  and  sudden  rise  of  temperature,  the 
latter  telling  me  it  was  a  regular  "  weather- 
breeder,"  and  it  needed  but  a  few  hours  to 
prove  the  truth  of  his  words.  About  two  o'clock 
the  oppressive  heat,  suddenly,  and  without  warn- 
ing, gave  way  to  a  damp,  chilly  atmosphere,  which 
was  very  penetrating  and  disagreeable,  and  soon 
made  it  too  unpleasant  to  stay  on  deck  in  warm- 
weather  togs.  This  chilliness  grew  more  decided 
as  the  afternoon  wore  on,  and  towards  evening 
low  mutterings  of  thunder  rumbled  up  from  the 
southwest,  where  a  bank  of  black  clouds,  compact 
and  ugly,  were  gradually  heaving  up  out  of  the 
sky-line.  The  sun  went  down  an  angry  globe  of 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

crimson  flame,  and  almost  before  its  upper  limb 
had  sunk,  the  damp,  murky  air  had  smothered  the 
glory  of  the  after-glow,  which,  during  the  short 
time  it  lasted,  presented  a  most  billious  spectacle. 
At  four  bells  (6  P.M.),  the  gloom  having  greatly 
increased,  there  came  on  a  cold,  drizzling  rain,  and 
at  the  same  hour  several  flashes  of  chain-light- 
ning zigzagged  a  warning  across  the  southwestern 
sky,  in  the  direction  of  the  river's  mouth,  followed 
by  a  low  growl  of  thunder  that,  distant  as  it  was, 
seemed  to  make  the  ocean  tremble.  As  night 
came  on,  it  grew  blacker  than  pitch ;  and  an  occa- 
sional cat's-paw  of  warm  wind  came  puffing  up 
from  the  same  direction.  Aloft  the  canvas  was 
thoroughly  snugged,  the  running-gear  was  over- 
hauled and  made  ship-shape,  the  decks  cleared  of 
all  unnecessary  stuff,  and  then  in  the  inky  dark- 
ness, heavily  rolling  on  the  oil-like  swells,  we 
awaited,  without  any  very  apparent  symptoms  of 
pleasure,  the  opening  of  the  performance  to  which 
nature  was  then  giving  us  the  overture.  At  eight 
bells  it  again  fell  dead  calm,  and  the  drizzle 
stopped  for  an  hour,  while  the  thunder  once  more 
began  its  growling  afar  off,  with  the  same  sup- 
pressed power  noticed  before.  The  captain  say- 
ing that  we  were  "  in  for  the  devil  of  a  kick  up, 
and  no  mistake,"  and  that  all  hands  would  prob- 
ably be  on  deck  all  night,  I  made  up  my  mind 
not  to  turn  in  as  usual,  but  to  stay  with  the  skip- 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN.  JL 

per  and  see  the  show.     Mr.  X cast  his  vote 

the  other  way,  and  vanished  below.  Shortly  after 
nine  o'clock  the  rain  commenced  sprinkling  again, 
but  with  no  renewal  of  the  gusts,  and,  going  be- 
low, I  rigged  myself  out  from  top  to  toe  in  oil- 
skins and  rubber.  By  ten  the  drizzle  had  increased 
to  a  pelting  torrent  of  rain,  the  air  was  still  and 
very  cold,  and  the  lightning  resumed  operations 
at  short  intervals,  much  closer  than  before,  while 
the  muttering  and  groaning  of  the  thunder  had 
swelled  into  very  discouraging  booms.  Then 
down  through  the  drenching  blackness,  from  each 
royal  mast-head  and  yard-arm  tip,  there  slowly 
gleamed  out  a  dim  glare  of  pale- blue  fire,  which 
flickered  in  the  most  ghostly  way,  now  going 
out,  now  reappearing,  sometimes  as  a  ball  and 
then  as  a  plume,  but  always  looking  spectral  and 
unreal.  These  phantom  visitors,  which  added 
considerable  weight  to  the  already  appalling 
gloom  of  the  situation,  are  called,  to  quote  the 
captain,  composants,  and  were  caused  by  an  ex- 
cess of  electricity  in  the  atmosphere.  I  recollect 
having  seen  a  picture  of  a  ship  thus  decorated,  in 
which  they  were  called  St.  Elmo's  fire. 

Towards  eleven  o'clock  the  steady  down-pour 
eased  off  a  bit,  but  a  sharp  squall  from  the  south- 
west came  breezing  along  bringing  it  on  again, 
and  then  with  a  rush  came  the  storm.  Every 
moment  the  thunder  and  lightning  increased  in 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

power,  until  at  last  it  seemed  as  if  the  arch-fiend 
himself,  backed  by  a  legion  of  lesser  Beelzebubs, 
was  overseeing  the  hideous  din.  For  six  hours 
the  storm  was  terrific ;  not  so  much  in  the  matter 
of  wind,  for  at  times  it  was  calm  ;  nor  in  the  sea 
running,  for  that  was  but  moderately  rough,  but 
in  the  frightful  vividness  of  the  lightning  and  the 
terrible  crashing  of  the  thunder.  The  bolts  of 
lightning  fairly  hissed  as  they  forked  around  and 
across  the  ship  in  blinding  flashes  of  pink  or  blue 
or  white  flame,  dazzling  one's  eyes  so  that  they 
ached  for  hours  afterwards.  To  attempt  to  de- 
scribe the  thunder  would  be  folly ;  almost  con- 
tinually for  six  hours  it  crashed  about  us,  each 
tremendous  discharge  making  the  ship  tremble 
and  quiver  to  her  keelson,  and  half  stunning  us 
as  we  stood  terror-stricken  at  the  fury  and  power 
of  the  storm.  Never  did  I  experience  such  fear, 
and  all  hands,  from  the  captain  to  the  cook,  ac- 
knowledge the  same  feeling  of  terror.  The  storm 
itself  was  terrifying  enough,  but  when  supple- 
mented with  the  knowledge  that  the  standing  rig- 
ging was  a  net-work  of  wire  ropes  and  chains,  and 
that  under  our  feet  lay  an  immense  mass  of  gun- 
powder, our  feelings  may  be  better  imagined  than 
described.  That  the  ship  was  not  struck  seems 
little  less  than  a  miracle,  and  I  think  what  saved 
her  was  the  fact  of  the  spars  and  rigging  being  so 
heavily  charged  with  electricity  before  the  storm 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 

broke.  During  the  first  half  of  the  storm  the  wind 
would  at  times  come  rushing  up  from  the  south- 
west, then  drop  away  altogether,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  afterwards  blow  great  guns  from  an  en- 
tirely different  direction  ;  in  fact,  we  had  squalls 
from  nearly  every  point  of  the  compass.  It  was 
during  the  calm  spells  that  came  between  these 
squalls,  and  when  the  ship  swung  heavily  from 
side  to  side,  that  the  storm  seemed  most  terrible. 
At  3  A.M.  it  settled  into  a  steady  blow  from  the 
northwest,  which  rapidly  stiffened  into  a  gale,  and 
the  ship  was  put  under  reefed  topsails,  reefed 
mainsail  and  foresail ;  at  four  o'clock  the  upper 
topsails  and  mainsail  were  furled,  and  the  foresail 
reefed,  and  under  this  latter  and  reefed  lower  top- 
sails we  ran  until  7  A.M.  The  crew  were  com- 
pletely fagged  out :  twelve  men  being  aloft  nearly 
two  hours  trying  to  furl  the  mainsail.  At  six 
o'clock  the  wind  in  a  great  measure  died  away ; 
the  clouds  began  to  scatter,  and  the  thunder  and 
lightning  rapidly  drew  away,  passing  out  to  sea- 
ward of  us ;  at  seven  a  cold  drizzle  set  in,  which 
lasted  all  day.  Both  the  captain  and  mate,  who 
have  spent  most  of  their  lives  at  sea,  say  they 
never  went  through  so  terrible  a  night  before,  and 
both  acknowledged  that  they  thought  themselves 
booked  for  Davy  Jones. 

August  22. — We  were  again  surrounded  by  the 

Cape  pigeons.     They  are  perfectly  ravenous,  and 
D  7 


74 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 


will  eat  anything  we  throw  overboard.  Drop  a 
bit  of  pork  fat  or  bread  no  larger  than  a  cent,  and 
instantly  they  will  have  it.  They  come  right  up 
under  the  rail  in  their  hurry  to  grab  the  morsels. 
They  always  have  to  settle  before  feeding,  and  it 
is  very  curious  to  see  one  or  more  flying  at  full 
speed,  spy  a  bit  of  food,  throw  back  their  wings, 
and  drop  beside  it.  Should  it  be  sinking,  they 
dive  after  it.  When  several  tackle  the  same  piece 
they  fight  and  cackle  at  a  great  rate.  The  after- 
noon being  nearly  calm  I  baited  a  small  fish-hook 
with  pork,  and  scattered  some  small  bits  about  in 
the  water.  The  pigeons  promptly  ate  all  the  loose 
bits,  and  then  turned  their  attention  to  the  piece 
on  the  hook.  A  great  many  picked  at  it,  but  for  an 
hour  I  couldn't  hook  one.  At  last,  however,  one 
unlucky  chap  got  the  barb  fastened  in  his  bill,  and 
was  hauled  on  board  struggling  bravely.  Being 
unfit  to  eat  I  let  it  go  again,  after  shutting  it  up 
for  a  while  in  the  cabin  along  with  our  youngest 
cat.  Puss  has  been  almost  crazy  since  the  birds 
came  around,  sitting  up  on  the  rail  at  the  risk  of 
falling  overboard,  and  following  them  in  their 
flight  with  her  eyes  for  an  hour  at  a  time,  and 
occasionally  uttering  a  dismal  "  meyow."  She 
also  sharpened  her  claws  very  often,  which  led 
us  to  think  she  would 'tackle  a  bird  with  great 
vigor.  But  when  pussy  was  brought  face  to  face 
with  our  pigeon  she  weakened.  For  a  while  she 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 


75 


only  sat  and  looked  at  it  sitting  on  the  floor,  then 
she  went  a  little  closer,  when  the  bird  hit  her  a 
slap  right  across  the  face  with  its  wing.  That 
finished  the  encounter,  for  the  kitten  retired  under 
the  sofa,  from  which  retreat  she  could  not  be 

coaxed.     Mr.  X ,  by  the  way,  slept  calmly  all 

through  last  night's  uproar,  and  was  astonished 
when  he  heard  about  it.  He  was  likewise  very 
much  tickled  at  having  dodged  the  experience, 
although,  now  that  it  is  all  over,  I'm  glad  I  was  on 
deck.  The  second  mate  acknowledged  to  me  to- 
day that  the  storm  was  "  no  slouch  of  a  rumpus," 
but  proceeded  to  relate  a  yarn  about  another  he 
once  witnessed,  which,  to  quote  him,  "  was  as  far 
ahead  of  last  night's  as  last  night's  was  ahead  of 
a  bunch  of  fire-crackers."  It  has  to  be  a  big 
thing-  that  Mr.  D can't  see  and  ^0  several 

o  o 

better. 

August  24. — To-day,  for  the  first  time,  I  saw  an 
albatross.  They  are  very  handsome  birds,  with 
the  same  graceful  flight  as  the  pigeons,  only 
slower,  and  are  much  larger  than  I  had  thought, 
some  measuring  twelve  or  fourteen  feet  across 
the  wings. 


76 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 


Table  for  week  ending  August  31. 

August  25. — Lat.  40°  43'  S.  Run — 57  miles. 

Lon.  56°  40'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  49°. 

Warmer ;  mostly  calm.     Very  heavy  fog  in  evening. 

August  26. — Lat.  41°  44X  S.  Run — 146  miles. 

Lon.  59°  o6x  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  49°. 

Fine  all  A.M.     Strong  squalls  from  2  to  5  P.M.,  with  thunder  and  light- 
ning.    Hail  and  snow  squalls  all  night.     Tremendous  sea. 

August  27. — Lat.  44°  13'  S.  Run — 236  miles. 

Lon.  62°  45'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  35°. 

Sea  still  very  high.     Moderate  gale  from  N.  W.    Fine  moonlight  night. 

August  28. — Lat.  48°  09'  S.  Run — 237  miles. 

Lon.  64°  52'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  31°. 

Gale  from  S.  W.     Hail  and  rain  at  intervals. 

August  29. — Lat.  50°  14'  S.  Run — 157  miles. 

Lon.  65°  21 '  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  30°. 

Gale  moderating.     Very  cold. 

August  30. — Lat.  52°  59'  S.  Run — 173  miles. 

Lon.  64°  19'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  33°. 

Snow,  hail,  sleet,  and  rain.     High  head  sea. 

« 

August  31. — Lat.  53°  39'  S.  Run — 115  miles. 

Lon.  64°  07'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  36°. 

Cold  and  fine.     Superb  sunset.     Full  moon.     Sighted  Staten  Land  at 
1 1  P.M.,  twenty-eight  miles  ahead. 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 


77 


AT  SEA,  SUNDAY,  August  31. 

weather  down  her 
who  — 


THE  weather  down  here  is  like  the  little  girl 

o 


"  When  she  was  good,  was  very,  very  good, 
But  when  she  was  bad,  she  was  horrid." 

Monday  and  Tuesday  mornings,  last  evening,  and 
all  to-day  belong  to  the  first,  and  the  rest  of 
the  week  to  the  second  half  of  the  couplet.  We 
have  been  running  down  along  the  coast  of  Pata- 
gonia all  the  week,  through  the  "  roaring  forties," 
as  these  latitudes  are  called,  keeping  well  in 
towards  the  land,  but  not  sighting  it,  except  for  a 
short  time  Thursday  afternoon,  when  it  could  just 
be  made  out  from  aloft,  about  thirty  miles  on  the 
starboard  beam,  and  having  the  appearance  of  a 
low  fog-bank. 

August  25.  —  At  daylight  we  were  within  a  mile 
of  a  large  skysail  yard  ship,  which  had  appeared 
on  Sunday,  the  24th  instant,  but  I  forgot  to  note  it 
down.  She  turned  out  to  be  the  "  St.  John,"  one 
of  our  owner's  ships,  and  registers  something  over 
two  thousand  tons.  She  was  then  seventy-one 
days  out  from  Liverpool,  bound  for  Callao,  Peru. 
Her  very  long  passage,  she  signalled,  had  been 
caused  by  an  awful  dose  of  "doldrums"  north  of 

7* 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

the  line.  What  makes  the  meeting  of  the  two 
vessels  curious  is  the  fact  that  just  about  a  year 
ago  both  ships  were  down  here,  our  captain 
having  charge  of  the  "  St.  John,"  and  her  present 
captain  having  command  of  the  "  Pactolus."  Cap- 
tain C had  a  hard  time  of  it  in  the  "  St.  John," 

the  voyage  being  a  chapter  of  accidents  from 
start  to  finish.  Besides  having  his  first  mate  sick 
in  bed  for  ninety  days,  his  other  officers  were 
most  inferior  and  unreliable.  The  steering-gear 
broke  down  in  the  South  Atlantic,  and  he  had  to 
venture  around  the  "  Horn"  with  a  patched-up 
affair.  He  lost  one  man  by  sickness  and  one  by 
drowning,  and  to  cap  the  climax,  was  run  into  at 
i  A.M.  one  dark  morning  off  Cape  Horn  by  an 
iron  bark.  The  ship  was  cut  just  forward  of  the 
fore  rigging,  the  bark's  bows  crushing  in  some 
ten  or  twelve  feet,  but  not  cutting  quite  down  to 
the  water-line.  On  the  bark  the  damage  was  a 
broken  jib-boom  and  bowsprit  and  loss  of  the 
foremast-stays.  The  captain  says  only  the  mild 
state  of  the  sea  prevented  both  vessels  from 
going  down.  One  of  the  bark's  crew  in  attempt- 
ing to  scramble  on  board  the  "  Pactolus,"  was 

o 

crushed  between  the  two  vessels  and  cut  in  half. 
The  ship  was  one  hundred  and  forty-nine  days  in 
reaching  'Frisco.  During  to-day,  which  has  been 
mostly  calm,  we  saw  a  whale,  a  seal,  and  several 
penguins,  queer  birds  about  the  size  of  a  duck, 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 

that  swim  under  water,  only  coming  to  the  surface 
for  air.  They  swim  almost  as  fast  as  any  fish  and 
venture  long-  distances  from  shore,  we  being  at 
the  time  over  a  hundred  miles  off  the  nearest 
coast.  Being  unable  to  fly  on  account  of  the 
diminutive  pattern  of  their  wings,  which  are  used 
as  fins  when  in  the  water,  they  waddle  about  in 
the  most  comical  manner  when  on  shore,  so  the 
mate  who  has  seen  them  there  tells  me.  In  the 
afternoon  the  captain  shot  a  pigeon  with  his  rifle, 
and  I  shot  at  several. 

August  26. — This  afternoon  we  had  a  repeti- 
tion, on  a  much  smaller  scale,  of  the  terrible  ex- 
perience off  the  river  Platte,  with  the  addition 
of  a  very  high  sea.  The  seas  were  tremendous, 
several  whoppers  coming  inboard.  At  one  time 
the  main  deck  was  full  to  within  a  foot  of  the  top 
of  the  rail,  the  men  either  floating  or  under  water 
in  the  lee-scuppers. 

August  27. — Our  fiftieth  day  out,  and  a  splendid 
run  we  have  made  so  far.  I  celebrated  the  occasion 
by  being  knocked  down  by  a  sea  that  tumbled  in  on 
me  as  I  was  standing  on  the  weather  side  of  the 
poop,  just  forward  of  the  mizzen-shrouds.  I  was 
talking  to  the  second  mate,  and  was  paying  more 
attention  to  one  of  his  unbelievable  yarns  than  to 
the  ocean,  when  all  of  a  sudden  I  saw  a  big  wave 
tower  over  us,  and  before  I  could  jump  away 
down  it  came,  laying  me  out  as  flat  as  a  Pinafore 


8o  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG   OF 

joke,  and  washing  me  aft  some  thirty  feet,  where 
the  captain  threw  himself  into  the  attitude  of  a 
wicket-keeper  at  cricket  and  stopped  me  cleverly. 
I  was  wet  through,  and  my  boots  were  filled  with 
salt  water ;  I  thought  for  a  moment  that  I  was 
overboard,  and  was  about  as  well  scared  as  possi- 
ble. Mr.  D was  carried  in  an  opposite  direc- 
tion on  to  the  main-deck  and  brought  up  under 
the  pumps,  from  which  position  it  took  a.  couple 
of  sailors  to  pull  him  out. 

August  28. — We  ran  past  a  bark  under  double- 
reefed  topsails ;  she  was  pitching  fearfully.  All 
to-day  we  have  been  accompanied  by  a  large  school 
of  right-whale  porpoises.  They  are  striped  black 
and  white,  and  have  much  quicker  movements 
than  the  common  black  species  ;  often  we  could 
see  them  shooting  through  the  crest  of  a  big  wave 
far  above  the  level  of  the  ship's  deck. 

August  29. — To-day  the  gale  suddenly  shifted  to 
the  southwest  and  south,  blowing  directly  in  our 
teeth,  and  so  continued  until  late  in  the  after- 
noon, when  it  sank  to  a  fresh  breeze.  Mixed  up 
with  these  blows  there  has  been,  as  the  table 
shows,  a  varied  assortment  of  rain,  snow,  hail, 
and  sleet  squalls,  which  cut  the  face  like  needles. 
The  quotations  of  the  thermometer  give  but  little 
idea  of  the  cold,  the  fierce  wind  and  cutting  rain 
or  spray  making  it  many  times  worse  than  the 
figures  would  seem.  The  whole  appearance  of 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN.  gt 

the  ship  is  changed.  Everything  about  the  decks 
is  strongly  battened  down,  the  windows  across  the 
weather  side  of  the  houses  are  covered  with  strong 
wooden  shutters,  heavy  breakwaters  have  been 
lashed  amidships  to  break  the  force  of  incoming 
seas,  extra  tackle  made  ready  in  case  of  accident  is 
hanging  at  the  foot  of  the  mizzen-mast,  and  a  life- 
line stretches  across  the  poop-deck,  to  grab  at  in 
case  of  a  wave  washing  over  that  part  of  the  ves- 
sel. Instead  of  a  cloud  of  canvas  we  only  carry 
the  heavy  lower  sails,  making  the  upper  part  of 
the  masts  look  bare  and  forlorn.  The  decks  are 
often  swimming  a  foot  deep  with  water,  and  are 
never  dry.  The  men,  who  are  now  prevented 
from  working  about  or  aloft  at  their  usual  jobs, 
are  only  worked  at  tending  the  sails,  and  between 
orders  stay  under  the  lee  of  the  forward  house. 
They  look  very  odd,  being  swelled  to  nearly  twice 
their  natural  size  by  their  thick  clothes,  over  which 
they  wear  oil-skin  coats  and  trowsers,  and  also 
rubber  "sou'wester"  hats.  Those  that  have  new 
suits  of  oil-skins  look  like  mammoth  canary-birds, 
the  color  of  the  garments  being  a  bright  yellow. 
Through  all  their  hardships,  and  this  weather  is 
really  very  hard  on  them,  they  seem  as  cheerful 
as  possible,  and  sing  their  queer,  monotonous 
songs  with  a  vim  when  pulling  on  the  ropes 
where  all  hands  or  a  whole  watch  is  needed. 
At  these  times  the  carpenter  is  expected  to  lend 


g2  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

a  hand,  and  when  on  deck  I  too  catch  hold  and 
help  pull.  The  song-,  or  "  shantee,"  as  they  call 
it,  which  is  sung  when  a  whole  watch  or  more 
are  hauling,  consists  in  the  leader  singing  a  line, 
then  all  hands  the  chorus,  which  is  only  one  line 
long,  and  at  the  same  time  giving  two  long, 
steady  pulls  ;  as  the  leader  chants  the  next  line 
the  men  rest,  then  another  chorus  and  pull, 
and  so  on  until  the  yard  is  hoisted  or  the  sail 
sheeted  home.  Of  course  I  too  have  to  wear 
very  different  clothes  from  the  cheviot  shirt  and 
straw  hat  costume  of  warm  latitudes.  I  am  now 
attired  in  the  following:  thick  Scotch  cap,  heavy 
silk  muffler,  under-shirt  and  two  flannel  shirts, 
vest,  jacket,  and  two  pairs  of  trowsers,  two  pairs 
of  socks,  heavy  rubber  boots,  and  over  all  my  big 
ulster.  With  all  this  on  it  is  a  good  deal  like 
work  to  go  aloft,  but  up  I  go  every  day,  rain  or 
shine,  generally  stopping  at  the  tops,  now  that 
my  sea-togs  are  so  heavy  and  cumbersome.  The 
cold  weather  has  the  advantages  of  cooling  the 
drinking-water  and  making  the  butter  as  hard  as 
ice. 

The  head-sea  to-day  was  awful,  and  to  stand  up 
without  holding  on  to  something  quite  impossi- 
ble, the  ship  seeming  to  stand  right  up  on  her 
stern  and  bow ;  yet  with  all  the  pitching  and 
rolling  she  does,  so  perfect  is  the  model  of  her 
hull  that  the  motion  is  seldom  jarring.  Luckily 


HIS   VOYAGE  AROUND   CAPE  HORN.  83 

for  me,  through  all  these  blows  my  bunk  has 
been  to  leeward,  and  my  seat  at  table  to  wind- 
ward, so  that  I  have  been  in  no  clanger  of  tum- 
bling out  of  the  first,  or  of  getting  a  plate  of 
soup  in  my  lap  while  at  table.  To-day  we  crossed 
the  fiftieth  degree  of  latitude  south  of  the  equator, 
from  which  point  to  fifty  degrees  south  in  the  Pacific 
is  commonly  recognized  among  sailors  as  going 
around  Cape  Horn. 

August  30. — Wore  ship  this  P.M.  for  the  first 
time,  there  being  too  much  sea  on  to  tack,  and 
stood  in  towards  land,  as  we  were  getting  too  far 
to  the  eastward.  The  charts  are  now  kept  on 
the  cabin-table  all  the  time,  and  are  consulted  at 
short  intervals  day  and  night. 

August  31. — The  week  winds  up  with  a  day 
clear,  cold,  and  bracing,  a  sunset  magnificent  in 
the  extreme,  and  a  brilliant  moonlight  evening. 


84  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 


Table  for  week  ending  September  7. 

September  i. — Lat.  55°  29'  S.  Run — 153  miles. 

Lon.  64°  34'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  34°. 

Clear,  cold,  and  fine.     Moonlight.     Passed  Cape  Horn  at  11.30  P.M. 

September  2. — Lat.  57°  04'  S.*  Run — 200  miles. 

Lon.  68°  15'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  39°. 

Light  airs  and  calms  most  all  day.     Sighted  Diego  Ramirez  Islands, 
twenty-two  miles  to  the  N.  W.,  at  4  P.M.,  from  upper  foretop-sail  yard. 

September  3. — Lat.  56°  38'  S.  Run — 131  miles. 

Lon.  71°  51'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  37°. 

Cold  and  rainy.     Heavy  S.  W.  swell. 

September  4. — Lat.  55°  n'  S.  Run — 196  miles. 

Lon.  76°  36'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  38°. 

Cold  and  raw.     High  swell  from  S.  W.     Heavy  gale  all  night,  wifh 
gigantic  sea. 

September  5. — Lat.  53°  29'  S.  Run — 167  miles. 

Lon.  77°  25'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  46°. 

Gale  all  day.     Head-sea  running  "  mountains  high." 

September  6. — Lat.  53°  $3'  S.  Run — 97  miles. 

Lon.  79°  29'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  44°. 

Moderate  gale.     Sea  still  high.     Very  little  progress. 

September  7. — Lat.  53°  O4/  S.  Run — 61  miles. 

Lon.  79°  39'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  46°. 

Fine  day.     Sea  lower.     Cold,  rainy  evening. 


*  Farthest  point  south. 


MS   VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN.  85 

* 


AT  SEA,  SUNDAY,  September  7. 

AROUND  Cape  Horn,  and  off  for  San  Francisco. 
The  weeks  and  weeks  of  sailing  south  have  done 
their  work,  at  last  the  dreaded  Cape,  our  half-way 
house,  is  passed,  the  Atlantic  is  far  astern  ;  and 
now,  ploughing  the  waves  of  the  South  Pacific, 
the  good  ship  heads  for  the  north  and  civilization. 
Sixty-one  days  out  and  around  Cape  Horn  is  a 
fine  record,  and  with  ordinary  luck  we'll  make  a 
rapid  passage.  I  hope  so,  I'm  sure,  for  the  cap- 
tain's sake,  and  the  sake  of  those  at  home,  who, 
unacquainted  with  the  many  harmless  ways  we 
might  be  detained,  would  perhaps  worry  were 
the  voyage  long-drawn  out.  One  hundred  and 
twenty  days  would  just  suit  me,  bringing  me 
to  'Frisco  November  5.  Ten  days  on  shore  to 
see  the  city  and  neighborhood,  as  well  as  to 
tackle  a  few  beefsteaks  and  fresh  fruits,  and  then 
take  the  steamer  of  the  I5th  for  Yokohama.  By 
catching  this  boat  I  would  be  landed  in  Japan  by 
Christmas-day,  which  I'm  not  particularly  anxious 
to  pass  at  sea.  But  with  some  seven  thousand 
miles  still  between  us  and  port,  any  attempt  to 
figure  our  arrival  down  very  fine  would  be  fool- 
ish. Cape  Horn  was  on  its  best  behavior  when 

8 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

we  came  around ;  I  had  expected  a  gale  that 
would  fairly  blow  my  hair  out  by  the  roots. 
Ever  since  leaving  home  I  have  heard  and  read 
stories  of  the  fierce  storms  that  most  ships  en- 
counter off  the  Cape. 

Vessels  are  sometimes  as  much  as  ninety  days 
beating  to  the  westward,  a  month  is  common 
enough,  and  very  often  ships  are  compelled  to 
put  back  all  the  way  to  "  Rio"  for  repairs.  This 
ship  once,  when  just  off  the  Cape,  was  headed 
off  by  a  gale  that  blew  her  back  for  six  days, 
and  landed  her  so  far  to  the  eastward  that  she 
was  over  two  weeks  in  again  reaching  Cape 
Horn. 

The  reason  of  the  strength  of  these  constant 
westerly  winds  is  that  for  thousands  of  miles  no 
land  intervenes  to  break  their  velocity  and  power 
as  they  come  sweeping  over  the  whole  extent  of 
the  Pacific.  On  this  parallel  of  latitude  a  ship 
could  steer  a  straight  westerly  course  right  round 
the  world,  and  no  other  place  on  the  globe  offers 
the  same  chance.  The  great  preparation  we 
made  for  buckling  the  Cape  was  more  evidence 
of  a  rough  time  coming.  All  our  light  and  old 
sails  taken  down,  and  strong  new  ones  bent  in 
their  place.  The  hatches  double-lashed  to  the 
decks,  breakwaters  rigged  amidships,  to  break 
the  force  of  any  stray  seas  that  should  tumble 
inboard,  everything  securely  battened  down,  ex- 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN.  $ 7 

tra  tackles  placed  where  they  would  be  handy  in 
case  of  anything  giving  way,  and  a  hundred  other 
little  matters  which  would  take  too  long  to  write 
about. 

Well,  on  each  side  of  the  Cape  we  had  some 
rough  weather :  one  gale  on  the  eastern  coast 
of  Patagonia,  and  another  on  this  side,  and  a 
week  or  two  of  most  disagreeable  sleet,  rain, 
and  snow  squalls.  But  a  regular  out  and  out 
Cape  Horn  blow  didn't  show  up,  although  the 
sample  of  last  Friday,  which  was  the  finish  of 
a  genuine  A  No.  i  gale,  was  enough  to  show 
me  what  the  weather  clerk  could  do  if  he  really 
tried. 

It  certainly  was  a  pleasant  surprise  in  the  face 
of  all  our  fears  to  go  skipping  around  the  Cape 
before  a  stiff  easily  breeze,  with  all  the  kites  set, 
and  the  moon  shining  brightly  overhead,  and  still 
more  surprised  were  we  when  the  next  day  we 
found  ourselves  lying  becalmed  off  the  Cape 
proper,  where  we  had  looked  for  the  hardest 
blow  of  the  voyage.  But  then  there  are  excep- 
tions to  every  rule,  that  of  Cape  Horn  weather 
included,  although  such  are  few  and  far  between. 

I  left  off  last  Sunday  by  saying  it  was  a  "  bril- 
liant moonlight  evening ;"  shortly  after  I  had  fin- 
ished writing  and  turned  in,  the  second  mate 

o 

called  down  the  companion-way  that  there  was 
an  iceberg  ahead.  On  hearing  this  the  captain 


88  ,/    LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

was   on   deck   in   about   thirty  seconds,  and   Mr. 

X and    I    followed    a    minute  later;    but   it 

was  a  false  alarm.  Instead  of  an  iceberg-  there 
loomed  up,  some  twenty-five  miles  to  the  south- 
ward, one  of  the  highest  mountains  of  Staten 
Land  (a  large  island  lying  off  the  eastern  coast 
of  Terra  del  Fuego),  its  snow-covered  top  shining 

in   the   moonlight   having   deceived    Mr.   D . 

The  body  of  the  island  was  hidden  by  clouds, 
and  this  one  peak  alone  was  visible ;  ten  minutes 
afterwards  it  had  disappeared. 

September  i. — At  sunrise  this  morning  the  ship 
was  abreast  of  the  island,  about  ten  miles  off  shore, 
and  as  the  sun  came  up  clear  and  brilliant,  an  en- 
ormous black  squall  that  had  until  then  completely 
shut  out  a  view  of  the  land  slowly  drifted  away. 
A  more  beautiful  scene  than  that  which  then  broke 
upon  us  I  never  beheld  ;  the  wtiole  extent  of  Staten 
Land  stood  out  clear-cut  against  a  black  -sky  be- 
yond; the  mountains,  which  extended  from  end  to 
end,  were  covered  to  their  tops  with  snow,  and  the 
rising  sun  shining  on  them  tinged  the  most  ex- 
posed sides  and  angles  with  a  delicate  pink  shade, 
and  cast  into  deep  shadow  the  valleys  and  great 
fissures  in  the  sides  of  the  cliffs.  In  some  parts 
the  mountains  curved  down  to  the  water's  edge 
in  great  sheets  of  unbroken  whiteness,  and  in 
others  the  dark  rugged  cliffs  rose  straight  from 
the  waves  to  the  height  of  a  thousand  feet. 


HIS   VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 


89 


For  an  hour  we  enjoyed  the  widely  beautiful 
scene,  which  as  the  sun  rose  higher  and  higher 
constantly  changed  its  brilliant  hues,  until  at  last 
another  tremendous  squall  slowly  shut  out  the 
view,  and  when  some  hours  later  it  was  again 
clear,  the  island  was  almost  out  of  sight.  Staten 
Land  or  Island  (both  names  being  used)  is  about 
forty  miles  long,  extending  east-northeast  and 
west-southwest,  and  lying  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  northeast  of  Cape  Horn.  It  averages 
four  miles  in  width.  Precipitous  hills  from  two 
thousand  to  three  thousand  feet  high  form  a 
rugged  backbone  the  entire  length  of  the  island, 
which,  by  the  way,  is  also  known  as  the  Court  of 
Eolus,  on  account  of  the  constant  squalls  and 
storms  there,  and  it  is  said  that  every  day  year  in 
and  year  out  the  squalls  are  as  sure  to  come  as 
the  sun  is  to  rise.  It  is  uninhabited,  and  the  har- 
bors are  few  and  wretched ;  wild  celery  and  vari- 
ous kinds  of  sea-birds  abound  (as  the  geographies 
say),  and  the  rocks  are  covered  with  a  peculiar 
kind  of  sea-weed  which  grows  to  the  length  of 
several  hundred  feet,  and  is  so  wide  and  tough 
that  cups,  buckets,  and  pans  can  be  made  of  it. 

11.30  P.M.  we  passed  the  longitude  of  Cape 
Horn  and  at  the  same  time  into  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
after  a  run  of  eight  thousand  four  hundred  and 
seventy-six  miles  in  fifty-five  and  one-third  days 
from  Delaware  Bay,  a  daily  average  of  one  hun- 


9o 


A    LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 


clred  and  fifty-three  and  one-sixth  miles.  We 
were  then  thirty  miles  south  of  the  Cape  proper, 
which  is  a  small  island  and  of  no  account  at  all 
in  itself,  being  only  about  a  mile  or  two  square. 
I  stayed  on  deck  until  midnight.  The  sky  was 
covered  with  patches  of  swiftly  moving  clouds, 
which  now  and  then  shut  out  the  bright  moonlight 
as  they  drifted  across  her  disk.  The  ship  was 
running  very  rapidly  before  a  fresh  northeast 
breeze,  every  rag  that  would  draw  set,  and  really 
presented  a  beautiful  appearance.  The  surface 
of  the  ocean  was  a  mass  of  roaring  breakers, 
caused  by  the  strong  westerly  current  running  in 
a  contrary  direction  to  the  wind,  which  as  they 
broke  into  foam  looked  in  the  bright  moonlight 
like  heaps  of  snow.  Right  overhead  sparkled 
the  Southern  Cross,  now  seen  at  its  best.  It  is  a 
very  beautiful  constellation  ;  from  this  time  it  will 
gradually  sink  behind  us. 

September  2. — The  ship  lay  becalmed  all  the 
morning,  light  breezes  springing  up  after  dinner. 
Made  out  the  Diego  Ramirez  rocks  at  4  P.M., 
from  the  foretop-gallant  yard,  twenty-two  miles 
ahead,  the  ship  then  heading  northwest.  These 
are  a  cluster  of  great  barren  rocks  fifty-four  miles 
southwest  of  Cape  Horn,  and  are  the  most  south- 
erly land  of  South  America.  There  are  three 
principal  rocks  and  many  lesser  ones  in  the 
group,  which  extends  northwest  and  southeast 


HIS   VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN.  gl 

four  or  five  miles.  Numberless  sea-birds,  and 
some  seals,  live  on  them. 

The  ship  "  St.  John,"  I  mentioned  last  week  had 
a  very  narrow  escape  from  being  lost  on  these 
rocks  when  on  her  way  home  from  'Frisco  a  year 
or  two  ago.  She  had  been  running  by  dead 
reckoning  before  a  "westerly"  for  several  days, 
when  one  pitch-dark  night  she  ran  at  full  speed 
straight  between  two  of  the  largest  rocks,  through 
a  narrow  channel  a  mile  long ;  so  close  was  she 
to  the  rocks  that  the  breakers  carried  away  all 
her  starboard  rail. 

September  5. — During  the  afternoon  and  night 
we  had  the  hardest  gale  of  the  voyage  so  far,  and 
from  the  tremendous  sea  running  from  that  direc- 
tion it  was  certainly  the  finishing  touch  of  a  regu- 
lar sou'wester,  although  the  wind  had  hauled 
around  to 'the  northwest.  The  sail  report  taken 
from  the  log  will  show  how  it  came  on  to  blow 
harder  and  harder.  "Up  to  i  P.M.  all  sail ;  i  P.M. 
furled  royals  ;  2  P.M.  furled  top-gallant-sails  ;  2.30 
P.M.  furled  cross-jack  and  reefed  upper  topsails 
and  spanker;  3  P.M.  furled  upper  topsails  and  jib; 
3.45  P.M.  furled  mainsail  and  reefed  foresail.  So 
until  9  A.M.  Saturday, -when  the  wind  moderated 
and  set  upper  topsails  and  mainsail,"  etc.  The 
ship  was  pitching  right  into  the  head-sea,  her 
bows  going  under  at  every  dip  and  flooding  the 
decks  with  water,  so  sleep  was  out  of  the  question, 


g  2  A    LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

and  to  stand  up  without  some  support  impossible. 
I  climbed  out  of  my  bunk  in  short  order  to  prevent 
being  tossed  out,  which  would  not  have  been  at 
all  amusing,  as  I  use  the  upper  one. 

September  6. — The  ocean  presented  a  magnifi- 
cent sight,  the  truly  gigantic  waves  towering 
above  us  at  one  moment  and  the  next  lifting-  the 

o 

ship  high  in  their  crests  as  though  she  we're  a  bit 
of  cork.  The  seas  had  lengthened  out  consider- 
ably and  the  ship  no  longer  plunged  head  on  into 
them,  but  rose  and  fell  with  an  easy,  pleasant  mo- 
tion. During  this  blow  it  was  and  still  is  a  diffi- 
cult feat  to  eat,  one's  whole  time  being  occupied 
while  at  table  in  watching  that  the  plates  don't 
deposit  their  contents  in  one's  lap.  The  swinging 
castor  gave  me  a  gentle  rap  on  the  cheek  to-day 
that  has  left  its  mark  for  some  time  to  come. 

Being  this  week  in  iceberg  regions,  we  have  at 
night  doubled  the  forward  lookout,  and  had  an 
extra  man  stationed  on  the  poop-deck.  The 
officer  on  watch  also  tries  the  temperature  of 
the  water  every  half-hour  as  a  further  precaution 
against  these  dangerous  objects.  None  have  ap- 
peared, however.  To-day  the  sea  is  much  lower, 
but  still  very  high,  and  rifnning  strong.  These 
long  swells,  whose  tops  are  about  one  thousand 
feet  apart,  are  found  here  all  the  year  round,  and 
are  peculiar  to  Cape  Horn,  only  building  up  close 
together  in  a  regular  gale. 


HIS  VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 


93 


September  7. — Like  last  Sunday,  to-day  has  been 
a  fine  one,  but  unlike  last  Sunday  evening,  to- 
night is  chill  and  rainy,  and  most  disagreeable, 
except  in  the  cabin.  This  morning  I  remarked  to 
the  second  mate  that  it  was  odd  we  had  sighted 
no  ice,  and  as  usual  he  took  the  cue  and  proceeded 
to  spin  me  a  yarn  on  the  subject  broached.  As  a 
specimen  of  his  efforts  you  shall  have  it  as  best 
I  can  remember  it. 

"Yes,"  said  he,  "it  is  a  bit  queer,  but  there's 
time  yet  to  clap  our  eyes  on  ice  before  we  get 
away  from  these  parts,  tho'  for  my  part  I  don't 
much  care  about  seein'  none.  Ice,  you  see,  Mr. 
Mac,  is  always  a  nuscience  at  sea,  and  no  skipper 
likes  to  have  it  about.  I've  seen  a  good  bit  of  it 
in  my  time,  and  about  three  years  ago  I  was  down 
just  about  this  very  place  ;  I  had  enough  of  it 
then  to  last  me  for  a  good  while  to  come.  You 
see  I  was  second  mate  of  the  '  British  Racer,'  an 
old  eighteen-hundred-ton  'lime-juicer,'  and  we  was 
carryin'  coal  from  Cardiff  to  'Frisco  (a  'lime-juicer,' 
I  must  tell  you,  is  sea-slang  for  an  English  vessel, 
the  English  law  making  it  compulsory  for  the 
captain  to  serve  his  crew  with  a  certain  amount 
of  lime-juice  per  man  per  day,  as  a  preventive 
against  scurvy).  Well,  sir,  we  was  gettin'  along 
right  smartly,  and  had  come  'round  the  Cape  just 
as  nice  as  we  did  here  the  other  night,  with  the 
kites  up  and  even  two  or  three  stuns'ls  out,  and 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

the  old  man,  Cap'n  Gordon,  of  Belfast,  was  just 
as  pleased  as  pie.  One  night  when  it  was  my 
middle  watch,  I  was  goin'  for'ad  to  see  that 
the  lookout  wasn't  asleep,  when  just  by  the  fore 
shrouds  I  was  met  with  a  puff  of  hot  air  that  had 
a  gassy  sort  of  smell,  and  quick  as  a  wink  I 
knowed  we  was  a-fire  somewhere  below.  That 
soft  coal  is  blank  for  a-breakin'  out  a-fire,  and  so 
I  knowed  at  once  what  was  the  row.  I  bolted 
for  the  old  man's  cabin,  and  turned  him  out  in 
no  time  by  sayin'  what  I  found  out  for'ad,  and 
he  didn't  lose  no  time  gettin'  on  deck,  runnin' 
out  just  as  he  was,  about  half  dressed.  You 
see,  he  had  a  good  slice  of  the  ship  himself,  and 
I  guess  the  old  girl  wasn't  insured  very  high. 
'Well,'  says  he,  when  we'd  taken  a  look  at 
things  and  saw  that  the  seams  was  beginnin'  to 
smoke  a  little,  'here's  a  go  and  no  mistake !  ain't  it, 

Mr.  D ?'    And  I  says,  'Yes,  cap'n,  it  is,  and 

a  blank  bad  one,  too.'  '  I  didn't  want  to  load  the 
blank  stuff/  says  he,  gettin'  mad  all  at  once,  ''cause 
I  knowed  its  dirty  tricks  and  ways  ;  but  it's  aboard 
now  and  burnin',  and  now  wot's  to  be  done  ?  for,' 
says  be,  slow  and  solemn-like,  '  this  here  ship  is 
'booked  for  the  bottom,  and  that,  too,  afore  many 

days.      Call   the   mate,  Mr.  D ,  and  then  all 

hands.' 

"  V/hen  the  men  was  all  amidships,  the  old  man 
gives  out  what  I'd  found,  and  orders  the  pumps 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 

to  be  rigged,  and  a  couple  of  lines  of  pipe  run 
down  through  the  deck  where  it  was  hottest, 
which  was  well  for'ad,  as  I  said  before.  All  that 
night  and  the  next  day  we  pumped  and  pumped 
water  into  her,  and  then  pumped  and  pumped  it 
out  again,  but  it  didn't  seem  to  do  any  good,  as 
the  smoke  came  out  thicker  and  thicker  each  hour, 
till  it  was  plain  as  the  mains'l  we  couldn't  drown 
the  blaze.  In  the  first  dog-watch  we  give  over 
tryin',  and  the  old  man  says,  '  Me  lads,  this  here's 
a  bad  job,  and  it  looks  tho'  the  "  Racer"  was  run- 
ning a  pretty  straight  course  for  Davy  Jones ;  the 
port  watch'll  start  in  and  get  the  boats  ready  for 
leavin'  the  ship,  and  the  starboard  watch'll  begin 
bringin'  out  some  stores.' 

"All  that  night  we  was  hard  at  it,  and  by  mornin' 
had  the  boats  well  fixed  and  ready  to  let  fall  at  a 
minute's  notice.  About  three  bells  that  evenin'  we 
was  takin'  our  tea,  when  a  fellow  in  my  watch  that 
we  called  Scopey,  'cause  his  eyes  was  reg'lar  tele- 
scopes for  spyin'  things,  sings  out,  'Ice  ahead,  two 
p'ints  on  the  port  bow  !'  And  sure  enough,  when 
the  ship  rose  up  again  there  was  a  little  twinklin' 
spot  right  on  the  sky-line,  a-shinin'  like  a  diamond. 
The  old  man  pops  below,  and  pops  up  again  with 
his  glass,  and  then  takes  a  good  long  look  at  the 
stranger,  t'wards  the  end  of  which  look  I  sees  a 
pleased-like  expression  come  over  his  face.  '  Let 
her  go  off  a  p'int,'  says  he  to  the  man  at  the  wheel, 


96  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

1  and  keep  her  nor'  by  west,  a  quarter  west/  '  Ay, 
ay,  sir!'  says  the  man,  and  we  began  runnin'  freer 
and  straight  for  the  ice.  Soon  after  that  it  come 
on  dark  and  we  took  in  considerable  sail,  so  as  to 
slack  up  our  speed,  and  at  sun-up  next  mornin' 
made  the  ice  about  six  miles  ahead,  a  reg'lar  old 
giant  of  a  berg,  sparklin'  in  the  sun  like  a  million 
tons  of  mother-o'-pearl.  There  was  a  easy  breeze 
blowin',  just  where  we  wanted  it,  and  makin'  the 
ship  as  easy  to  handle  as  a  pilot-boat.  '  Run  for 
it,'  says  the  old  man  to  Mr.  Corker,  the  mate,  'and 
let's  see  what  it  looks  like  close  on.'  Pretty  soon 
we  was  within  half  a  mile  of  it,  and  certainly  it  was 
grand,  bein',  I  should  judge,  about  a  mile  long  by 
nearly  as  much  wide,  and  heavin'  up  in  some 
places  eleven  or  twelve  hundred  feet.  '  Back  the 
main  yard,  Mr.  Corker,'  says  the  old  man,  *  and 
get  away  the  whale-boat.  I  think  I'll  go  ashore 
and  do  a  little  prospectin'.  Six  men  here,  tumble 

in,  you  with  'em,  Mr.  D ,'  and  in  no  time  we 

was  off  and  pullin'  for  the  ice.  The  old  man 
soon  sees  a  place  where  landin'  was  easy,  a  reg'- 
lar ice-wharf  extendin'  back  about  two  hundred 
yards,  and  as  level  as  the  deck  of  a  ship  layin'  at 
anchor,  and  we  pulls  alongside  of  it,  makin'  fast 
to  a  spike  drove  into  the  ice.  The  old  man  tum- 
bled out,  and,  tellin'  us  to  wait,  sticks  his  hands 
into  his  pockets  and  walks  off.  When  he  comes 
back  he  was  all  smiles,  and  sings  out,  '  Hit  her  up 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 

now,  boys,  and  we'll  soon  be  as  snug  as  tho'  we 
was  safe  ashore  in  Liverpool/  When  we  gets 
back  to  the  '  Racer,'  and  was-  aboard  again,  he 
says,  as  cheerful  as  you  please,  tho'  the  old  girl 
was  a-smokin'  away  for'ad  like  a  blank  volcaner, 
*  Take  in  the  r'yals  and  t'gall'nts,  Mr.  Corker,  and 
s'pose  you  let  go  the  upper  tops'l  halliards  too. 
Work  her  up  close  to  the  berg  under  the  courses, 
and  back  the  main  yard  just  off  that  flat  p'int 
where  I  made  a  landinV  When  we  was  there  he 
sends  two  hawsers  ashore,  and  makes  'em  fast  to 
a  couple  of  spars  planted  in  the  ice,  and  then 
warps  the  old  gal  up  to  the  ice-wharf  as  neat  and 
ship-shape  as  if  we  was  tyin'  up  to  a  reg'lar  civil- 
ized dock,  tho'  of  course  the  ship  scraped  a  bit  on 
account  of  the  sea.  '  Knock  away  the  bulwarks 
alongside  the  ice,  Mr.  Corker,'  says  the  old  man, 
almost  laughin'  he  was  so  pleased,  and  we  soon 
had  'em  down  and  the  deck  about  level  with  the 
flat  part  of  the  berg.  Well,  sir,  we  just  cleaned 
that  ship  out,  takin'  ashore,  as  we  called  it,  all  the 
stores  and  tools  and  lumber  and  sails,  even  to  the 
rag  carpet  off  the  cabin  floor  and  the  rubber  balls 
what  the  kittens  used  to  play  with  about  the  deck. 
'  Now,  men,'  says  the  old  man,  when  there  was 
nothin'  else  as  could  very  well  be  shifted,  and  we 
was  about  used  up,  *  off  with  the  main  hatch,  and 
begin  passin*  out  the  cargo.  The  fire  hasn't 
tackled  that  part  yet,  and  we  can  get  a  fair  bit 

E        g  9 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

of  it  out  afore  the  ship  is  too  hot  to  work  on  ;'  for, 
lucky  for  us,  the  breeze  carried  the  smoke  that 
was  pourin'  out  for'ad  clean  away  from  us,  which 
prevented  our  bein'  choked  to  death.  Now  the 
men  took  this  order  as  pretty  hard  lines,  and, 
seein'  how  they'd  been  workin',  it  did  look  kinda 
rough.  '  Wot's  the  use  o'  that?'  says  one  of 'em, 
speakin'  for  the  crowd.  'We're  blank  near  dead 
a' ready,  and  don't  see  wot  you  want  the  coal  for, 
nohow ;  we've  plenty  o'  wood  to  burn.' 

"  '  Wot !'  says  the  old  man,  gettin'  hot,  '  is  that 
the  way  you're  goin'  to  act  after  me  showin'  such 
kindness  to  ye  for  three  whole  months?  Here,  now, 
tumble  to,  and  no  sulkin'.  Why,  blank  your  lazy 
hides,  I'll  take  a  hand  meself.'  And  he  off  s  with 
his  pea-jacket  and  starts  in.  That  cheered  the 
boys  up  a  bit,  and  so  they  went  to  work  with  a 
will,  and  never  stopped  till  there  was  near  seven 
hundred  tons  of  coal  safe  and  sound  on  the  ice, 
and  well  back  from  the  edge.  At  last  we  couldn't 
work  no  longer,  for  the  flames  broke  out  and  just 
went  for  things  like  a  lot  of  hungry  tigers.  '  Cast 
her  off!'  yells  the  old  man,  and  the  next  minit 
the  old  gal  was  driftin'  away  all  ablaze  and  lookin' 
splendid.  Well,  sir,  we  lived  on  that  berg  for  a 
year,  lackin'  just  five  days,  and,  barrin'  the  cold, 
was  as  cheerful  and  comfortable  as  you  please. 
We  built  a  nice  house,  and  had  plenty  to  eat  and 
nothing  to  do,  the  only  duty  being  to  keep  a 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 

lookout  from  one  of  the  high  points  where  we 
rigged  a  signal-station,  and  kept  the  flags  flyin' 
all  the  time  there  was  daylight  and  a  big  bonfire 
all  night.  We  found  a  little  polar  bear  cub,  too, 
and  brought  her  up  as  a  pet ;  but  her  temper  bein' 
pretty  cross-grained  we  had  to  be  careful  not  to 
tease  her,  and  the  cap'n  named  her  Maria  Ann, 
which  he  said  was  the  name  of  his  wife's  mother, 
who  was  snappish  like  the  bear  and  reminded 
him  of  her.  At  the  end  of  six  months  the  berg 
had  melted  about  half  away,  and  in  nine  was  only 
about  a  quarter  the  size  it  had  been  when  we 
boarded  it,  and  all  that  time  we  hadn't  seen  a 
single  sail. 

"  One  day,  about  noon,  I  was  just  goin'  up  to  the 
signal-staff,  when  I  see  the  flag  run  up  as  had 
been  fixed  to  signify  sail  in  sight.  c  Sail  ho !'  I 
sings  out,  and  the  men  comes  runnin'  out,  sayin', 
'  Where  ?  where  ?'  Up  we  all  scrambles,  and  sure 
enough  there  was  a  sail  comin'  head  on  right  for 
the  berg  on  the  opposite  side  from  Racerville,  as 
we  called  the  camp. 

"  *  It's  a  steamer  under  all  sail,'  says  the  old 
man. 

"  She  came  on  awful  slow,  and  it  was  a  good 
while  before  we  could  signal  her ;  but  at  last  she 
saw  us,  and  runs  up  her  awnsering  pennant. 

"  '  Who  are  you  ?'  says  we. 

"  *  British  steamship  "  Haystack,"  from  Buenos 


100  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

* 

Ayres  for  Callao,'  says  the  steamer,  and  then  runs 
up.  *  Do  you  want  to  be  taken  off?' 

"  '  Well,  rather,'  says  we.  *  Heave  to,  and  we'll 
come  aboard.'  So  she  runs  a  little  closer  and 
heaves  to.  The  old  man  and  me  and  six  men 
pulls  off  to  her,  and,  when  we  got  on  deck,  the 
old  man  says, — 

"  '  Cap'n  Morgan,  I  believe?'  Havin'  found  the 
other  skipper's  name  in  an  old  register. 

"  '  Yes,'  says  the  other  old  man.  '  What's  the 
matter  with  you, — wrecked  ?'  For  we  looked  as 
healthy  and  ship-shape  as  you  please. 

"  'Yes,'  says  our  old  man  ;  '  I  lost  my  ship,  the 
"  British  Racer,"  a  year  ago  next  Monday  by  fire, 
and  have  been  campin'  out  ever  since.' 

" '  Well,'  says  the  other,  '  you're  cool  about  it, 
'an'  no  mistake.' 

" '  A  year  on  a  iceberg  is  calkerlated  to  make  a 
feller  coolish,'  says  our  old  man,  grinnin'.  And 
then  lookin'  round,  says,  *  Ain't  you  steamin'  ?' 

" '  No,'  says  Cap'n  Morgan ;  '  I  was  blowed 
out  of  my  way  so  far  down  off  the  Falklands 
that  I  used  up  all  my  coal,  and  have  been  tryin' 
to  get  along  under  canvas  ever  since.  But  it's 
dreadful  slow,  and  I'm  agoin'  to  break  up  the  wood- 
work and  clap  on  steam  again.' 

"  '  Wot's  your  cargo  ?'  says  Cap'n  Gordon. 

"  '  Meat,'  says  Cap'n  Morgan.  '  Fresh  meat 
in  ice-chests  ;  but  the  ice's  'most  gone,  and  I  was 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND   CAPE  HORN.         IOi 

standin'  for  the  berg  to  get  a  new  supply  when  I 
made  out  your  signals.  I'm  afeared  tho'  it'll  spile 
afore  I  can  fix  it  up  and  make  port.' 

"  ( What'll  you  give  a  ton  for  good  coal?'  says 
our  old  man,  kinda  smilin'. 

"  '  What  ?  says  Cap'n  Morgan. 

"  '  I  says  what'll  you  give  for  coal  ?'  says  ours. 

"  *  What  d'you  mean  ?'  says  Cap'n  Morgan, 
lookin'  as  tho'  he  took  our  old  man  to  be  off  his  nut. 

"  'Why,'  says  Cap'n  Gordon, '  I've  a  coal-mine  on 
this  island  of  mine  ;  not  much  of  a  one,  but  I  could 
let  you  have  say  seven  hundred  tons  at  a  fair  price  ; 
and  if  you  take  it  all  I'll  let  you  have  the  ice  free, 
throw  it  in  as  it  were,  and  not  say  nothin'  about  it.' 

"  At  first  Cap'n  Morgan  thought  our  old  man 
gone  cranky,  but  when  he  found  out  we  really  did 
have  the  coal,  he  says, — 

" '  Well,  you  let  me  have  the  coal,  and  I'll  take 
you  and  your  crew  to  Callao  for  nothin'.' 

"  *  Oh,  no,'  says  our  old  man;  'we're  comfortable, 
and  in  no  hurry  to  move.  I'll-  let  you  have  the 
coal  for  five  pounds  per  ton,  fifty  per  cent,  off  for 
cash,  delivered  alongside  the  berg.' 

"  '  Five  pounds  a  ton !'  yells  the  steamer's  old 
man.  '  Why,  you  must  think  I'm  the  Duke 
o'  Westminster.  I'll  give  you  one.' 

" '  Say  two  pounds  ten,'  says  our  old  man,  '  and 
I'll  throw  in  my  mother-in-law,  I  mean  a  she  polar 
bear,  into  the  bargain.' 


102  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

"  (  Polar  bear  be  blanked  !'  says  Cap'n  Morgan. 
*  I  ain't  commandin' a  zoological  garden  this  v'yage.' 

"  '  Well,'  says  our  old  man, '  one  pound  takes  it ; 
and  you  can  bring  the  "  Haystack"  up  alongside 
safe  enough,  for  the  water's  deep  snug  on.' 

"  Well,  we  soon  had  the  coal  shifted  again,  and 
as  I  said,  just  five  days  less  than  the  year  we  cast 
off  and  stood  away  for  Callao,  Maria  Ann  and 
all,  only  the  two  kittens  bein'  missin',  they  havin' 
been  eat  by  Maria  about  six  months  before.  I 
shipped  from  Callao  for  Antwerp,  and  never 
heard  of  any  of  the  crew  again  till  just  before  we 
started  away  this  time,  when  I  read  a  piece  in  the 
New  York  Herald,  tellin'  about  a  seafarin'  party 
as  was  killed  by  his  mother-in-law  during  a  quar- 
rel about  keepin'  a  white  bear  chained  in  the  old 
lady's  garden,  and  from  what  it  said  I  come  to  the 
conclusion  it  must  have  been  the  '  Racer's'  old 
man  what  was  killed,  and  that  the  white  bear 
must  have  been  Maria  Ann." 

Mr.  D-  —  reels  these  yarns  off  in  the  most 
solemn  manner,  and  I  never  express  the  slightest 
want  of  faith  in  them,  although  I  can  hardly  believe 
that  he  actually  thinks  I  take  them  to  be  true. 
Whenever  the  captain  or  mate  is  about,  his  lips 
are  sealed  and  his  fictions  are  hushed.  In  fact,  I 
seem  to  be  the  only  person,  besides  Chips,  who 
he  makes  a  confidant  in,  regarding  his  remarkable 
adventures. 


HIS   VOYAGE  AROUND   CAPE  HORN. 


Table  for  week  ending  September  14. 

September  8. — Lat.  52°  28'  S.  Run — 149  miles. 

Lon.  83°  20'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  45°. 

Heavy  squalls  all  night.     Head-sea.     Fog  all  day. 

September  9. — Lat.  51°  47'  S.  Run — 147  miles. 

Lon.  85°  49'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  40°. 

Cold  and  rainy.     Moderate  gale.     High  sea. 

September  10.— Lat.  50°  2$'  S.  Run— 139  miles. 

Lon.  85°  28'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  49°. 

Beautiful  day.     High  sea. 

September  11. — Lat.  47°  34'  S.  Run — 186  miles. 

Lon.  84°  04'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  52°. 

Beautiful  day.     Light  airs  and  calms. 

September  12. — Lat.  46°  42'  S.  Run — 68  miles. 

Lon.  83°  47'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  52°. 

Weather  fine.     Scored  our  tenth  thousand  mile. 

September  13. — Lat.  44°  53°  S.  Run — 176  miles. 

Lon.  87°  03'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  45°. 

Thick,  colder  and  damp. 

September  14. — Lat.  43°  56'  S.  Run — 121  miles. 

Lon.  88°  20'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  46°. 

Damp  and  unpleasant.     Wind  dead  ahead  most  all  the  week. 


A  LANDLUBBER'S  LOG   OF 


AT  SEA,  SUNDAY,  September  14. 

A  POOR  week's  work  and  one  not  calculated  to 
help  the  quick  passage  we  have  been  counting  on. 
Wind  dead  ahead  and  continuous  tacking  has 
been  the  bugbear  all  through  the  week  and  still 
continues.  It  is  very  aggravating  after  such  a 
good  run. 

Everything  shows  that  we  are  approaching  fine 
weather  regions  again,  for  which  change  I'll  not 
be  sorry.  Wednesday,  Thursday,  and  Friday  were 
model  days ;  such  days  that  could  I  pickle  a  few 
and  get  them  home,  I  could  dispose  of  them  to 
invalids  or  picnic-parties  at  very  high  prices  ;  but 
we're  still  in  rough  regions,  and  are  liable  to  have 
gales  any  time  until  we  strike  across  thirty  de- 
grees south. 

Saturday  and  to-day  the  weather  changed  for 
the  worse  again,  and  this  evening  looks  threaten- 
ing and  squally  to  the  southwest,  the  direction 
rough  weather  generally  comes  from  down  here. 

September  8. — In  the  afternoon  we  saw  a  superb 
fog-bow  to  the  southward ;  it  lasted  about  fifteen 
minutes.  The  fog-horn  was  kept  going  all  day, 
being  performed  on  by  one  of  the  watch  on  deck, 


HIS   VOYAGE  AROUND   CAPE  HORN.        IQr 

who  paced  the  top-gallant  forecastle  while  he 
sounded  the  warning. 

September  9. — I  caught  a  splendid  albatross  and 
also  one  of  the  half-breeds  that  were  flying  about 
us,  by  letting  over  a  strong  cod-line  baited  with 
pork  fat.  At  least  twenty  small  birds  were  hav- 
ing a  battle  over  it,  when  several  big  ones  came 
swooping  down  and  scattered  them  away.  In  a 
second  my  prize  had  swallowed  furiously.  He 
was  a  beauty,  with  soft  white  throat,  breast,  and 
wings,  which,  when  spread  out  on  his  body,  meas- 
ured over  eight  feet  across.  I  have  them  as  tro- 
phies, also  his  skull  and  back.  The  half-breed 

had  brown  wines,  and  measured  six  feet  across. 

<_>  ' 

These  birds  are  great  company  for  us ;  since  the 
2  ist  of  August  we  have  been  accompanied  by 
more  or  less  of  them  every  day,  rain  or  shine. 

There  are  several  kinds.  First,  the  Cape 
pigeons  I  spoke  of  before ;  these  are  very  com- 
pactly built  little  fellows,  and  are  the  most  numer- 
ous ;  they  are  very  tame,  and  superlatively  greedy. 
To  feed  they  have  to  first  settle  in  the  water,  and 
it  is  very  amusing  to  throw  over  a  bit  of  fat  or 
bread  and  watch  them  fight  over  it.  The  instant 
one  sees  it,  no  matter  how  fast  he  is  flying,  he 
throws  back  his  wings  and  half  flies,  half  tumbles, 
into  the  water,  then  scrambles  up  and  grabs  it. 
Generally  three  or  four  see  it  at  the  same  time, 
and  it  looks  as  if  they  had  been  shot  to  see  them 


I06  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

come  tumbling  down,  head  over  heels,  in  their 
haste  to  reach  the  coveted  morsel.  If  it  is  too 
big  a  piece  for  one  to  fly  away  with  or  swallow 
whole,  a  regular  raid  is  made  on  the  one  who  has 
it,  twenty  or  thirty  getting  around  it,  all  scram- 
bling and  pushing  to  get  a  bite.  They  never  ut- 
ter a  sound,  except  at  these  times,  when  they  give 
weak  little  quacks  like  miniature  ducks.  They 
float  on  the  water  as  lightly  as  a  ball  of  cotton, 
and  look  very  pretty.  Then  there  are  the  regu- 
lar albatrosses,  known  by  their  white  heads  and 
pinkish  beaks,  and  the  half-breeds,  like  the  one 
we  caught.  Also  some  birds  called  molly-mokes, 
about  the  size  of  a  turkey.  These  are  hideously 
ugly  creatures  that  are  a  dirty-black  color  all 
over,  and  have  white  eyes ;  they  are  not  as  tame 
as  the  other  birds,  and  will  not  bite  at  our  line. 

Sometimes  there  are  a  few  gulls  of  various 
kinds,  pure  white,  and  gray,  but  they  are  scarce, 
as  we  are  too  far  off  shore  to  suit  their  taste. 
All  these  birds  have  the  same  graceful  flight, 
sweeping  swiftly  over  the  waves,  rising  and  fall- 
ing as  the  water  rises  and  falls,  and  making  long 
curves  around  the  ship,  often  dozens  flying  in  a 
body.  They  are  always  on  the  lookout  for  food, 
and  will  tackle  anything  at  all ;  I  often  fool  them 
by  throwing  over  a  few  chips  of  wood.  The  larger 
birds  cannot  bring  up  as  suddenly  as  the  pigeons, 
but  have  to  circle  once  or  twice  before  settling 


HIS   VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 

down.  The  little  ones  always  find  and  get  to  the 
bits  of  pork  first,  and,  if  it  be  a  large  piece,  are 
just  getting  interested  in  it  when  down  come 
the  big  fellows,  squawking  at  a  great  rate,  and 
promptly  take  possession,  swallowing  at  one  gulp 
what  the  pigeons  could  not  fly  away  with.  I  saw 
one  bolt  a  piece  that  weighed  over  a  pound. 
When  the  prize  is  light  enough  to  carry,  the 
pigeons  grab  it  up  and  fly  away  with  it  to  de- 
vour it  undisturbed,  and  the  big  birds  are  too 
clumsy  to  catch  them.  The  albatrosses  are  es- 
pecially strong  of  flight,  and  are  said  to  have  one 
more  bone  in  their  wings  than  any  bird  known. 
It  is  really  marvellous  to  see  them,  as  they  sail  as 
straight  as  a  bullet  right  into  the  teeth  of  a  roar- 
ing gale  without  a  movement  of  their  outstretched 
wings,  and  apparently  without  an  effort  of  any 
sort. 

The  legs  of  all  these  birds  are  very  weak,  and 
will  not  support  them  when  on  a  hard  surface. 
They  use  them  to  run  along  the  tops  of  the  waves 
for  a  yard  or  two  when  they  start  in  their  flight, 
but  cannot  rise  from  the  deck  of  a  vessel,  so  that 
once  get  one  on  board  and  he  cannot  escape  ;  and 
an  odd  fact  is  that  when  brought  on  board  they 
are  always  sea-sick,  vomiting  whatever  they  may 
have  eaten,  and  naturally  presenting  a  very  ludi- 
crous appearance.  They  live  on  the  various 
squids,  etc.,  that  are  found  on  the  surface  of  the 


I08  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

water,  and  only  follow  the  ships  for  the  delica- 
cies of  their  bill  of  fare.  Of  all  the  things  they 
like,  "slush"  is  their  favorite.  It  is  the  grease 
that  is  used  in  rubbing  down  the  topmasts  and 
top-gallant-masts,  and  for  various  other  jobs  on 
board  ship.  The  slush-barrel  is  kept  forward, 
and  I  waste  about  a  quart  every  day  feeding 
them.  I  am  trying,  by  a  daily  supply  of  this, 
how  far  north  I  can  lure  them. 

Besides  all  these,  we  once  in  a  while  see,  but 
oftener  only  hear,  the  penguins,  those  queer  birds 
that  cannot  fly,  but  swim  under  water.  Some- 
times they  jump  from  the  water  just  as  a  porpoise 
does.  To-day  I  heard  several,  but  could  not  catch 
a  glimpse  of  any,  as  they  are  very  shy.  When  I 
mentioned  the  other  day  that  they  ventured  a 
long  way  from  land,  we  were  then  one  hundred 
miles  off  the  coast ;  to-day  we  are  six  hundred. 

September  10. — In  the  evening  there  was  a  fine 
display  of  the  Southern  Lights,  or  Aurora  Aus- 
tralis,  a  phenomenon  which  corresponds  with  the 
Aurora  Borealis  of  northern  latitudes. 

September  n. — The  captain,  Mr.  X ,  and 

I  spent  the  afternoon  shooting  at  the  birds. 
Result, — seven  rifle-shots,  twenty-four  revolver- 
shots,  three  horse-pistol  shots,=  one  pigeon.  The 
solitary  victim  to  all  this  expenditure  of  powder 
and  shot  was  hit  by  the  captain  with  the  horse- 
pistol.  As  the  bird  was  only  some  eight  feet 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 


109 


away,  and  the  pistol  was  charged  with  an  ounce 
of  buckshot,  he  could  hardly  have  missed.  I  fired 
the  other  two  shots  out  of  the  pistol,  and  most  of 
the  revolver  cartridges,  but  the  ship  tossed  so  you 
couldn't  get  any  aim.  The  pistol  was  a  pre- 
historic relic,  which  kicked  like  a  pair  of  mules. 

September  12. — To-day  we  scored  our  tenth 
thousand  mile. 

September  14. — This  evening,  just  before  sun- 
set, we  sighted  a  bark  bound  south,  probably 
from  the  Guano  Islands,  off  the  coast  of  Peru. 
The  voyage  has  now  a  different  aspect  to  us  all, 
and  I  must  say  I'm  glad  we  are  heading  towards 
the  north  star.  It  gives  the  greatest  satisfaction 
to  know  we  are  actually  steering  for  port,  and 
although  still  enthusiastic  on  the  delights  of  the 
trip,  I  am  glad  it  is  more  than  half  over ;  as  if  we 
are  out  very  many  days  more,  I'll  have  to  have 
every  rag  of  clothes  let  out  when  I  get  to  'Frisco. 
I  am  getting  fat,  and  am  as  tough  as  sole  leather. 
I  forgot  to  say  before  that  we  have  a  sailor  who 

cuts  hair  quite  nicely.  Mr.  X and  I  have 

each  passed  through  his  hands  once. 


10 


IIO  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 


Table  for  week  ending  September  21. 

September  15. — Lat.  41°  45'  S.  Run — 159  miles. 

Lon.  87°  07'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  52°. 

Damp  and   unpleasant.     Heavy  squalls  all    day.     Sea  running  high. 
Thousands  of  birds 

September  16. — Lat., 38°  5 17  S.  Run — 183  miles. 

Lon.  86°  43X  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  59°. 

Beautiful  day.     Stiff  breeze.     Sea  very  high.     Much  water  coming  on 
board. 

September  17. — Lat.  35°  34'  S.  Run — 203  miles. 

Lon.  86°  39'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  58°. 

Weather  fine.     Light  breezes. 

September  18. — Lat.  34°  24'  S.  Run — 88  miles. 

Lon.  87°  44'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  58°. 

September  19. — Lat.  32°  46'  S.  Run — 108  miles. 

Lon.  88°  38'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  61°. 

Fine  day.     Calm  all  afternoon. 

September  20. — Lat.  31°  56'  S.  Run — 54  miles. 

Lon.  88°  56'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  64°. 

Light  airs  and  calms.     Weather  fine. 

September  21. — Lat.  31°  oo'  S.  Run — 58  miles. 

Lon.  88°  45 x  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  69°. 

Light  airs    and    calms.      Beautiful   sunset.      Latter   part  of  week  in 
"  calms  of  Capricorn." 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 


AT  SEA,  SUNDAY,  September  21. 

LAST  week  we  had  to  contend  against  adverse 
winds,  and  most  of  this  week  what  is  worse,  no 
winds  at  all,  at  least  very  little,  and  light  at  that. 
As  I  write,  the  ship  is  scarcely  moving,  the  ocean 
is  as  smooth  as  a  mill-pond,  and  the  swell  has  so 
decreased  as  to  be  hardly  perceptible.  It  is  very 
discouraging  after  such  a  fine  run  to  be  thus  stuck. 
Each  day  we  paddle  along  in  these  calms  of 
Capricorn  counts  against  our  looked  for  "  clipper" 
passage,  and  the  captain's  face  grows  longer  and 
longer  as  the  calms  continue,  and  he  pictures  the 
"Spinney"  far  to  the  westward  bowling  along,  while 
we  are  idle  ;  however,  perhaps  the  "  Spinney"  is  as 
badly  off  as  we  are.  Monday  and  Tuesday  the 
wind  was  fresh  and  fine,  and  we  were  just  be- 
ginning to  chuckle,  when  presto,  change  !  and  it 
was  gone.  All  along  there  have  been  whiffs  of 
air  enough  to  make  it  pleasant  and  keep  steerage- 
way  on  the  ship ;  what  little  we  have  made  has 
generally  been  at  night,  as  during  the  daytime  we 
have  hardly  averaged  a  mile  an  hour.  After  dark 
light  breezes  come  fanning  over  the  water,  and 
we  take  every  advantage  possible  to  be  had  from 
them.  I  wish  my  friends  at  home  could  see  the 


II2  A   LANDLUBBER* S  LOG    OF 

sunsets  in  these  calm  regions  of  the  ocean.  At 
all  times  and  in  all  places  they  have  been  beauti- 
ful, but  nowhere  so  delicate  in  coloring-  as  in  these 

o 

parts.  The  sun  generally  sets  perfectly  clear,  a 
brilliant  dazzling  color,  turning  the  western  ocean 
a  deep  blood-red,  and  in  parts  a  rich  purple.  But 
it  is  the  after-glow  that  is  so  enchanting.  Such 
a  perfect  blending  of  colors,  such  exquisitely  deli- 
cate tinting,  can  nowhere  else  be  seen.  The  light 
fleecy  clouds  fantastically  grouped  and  scattered 
about  in  curious  forms  are  painted  by  the  dying 
sun  in  every  conceivable  shade,  in  some  places  in 
the  most  startling  contrasts,  while  in  others  the 
colors  blend  as  delicately  as  in  a  prism. 

Clouds  tinted  a  rich  turkey-red  or  gorgeous 
orange  float  along  beside,  others  as  white  as  snow 
or  deep  black.  The  background  of  the  sky  ap- 
pears like  a  huge  rainbow,  and  as  it  rises  from 
the  horizon  assumes  all  the  colors  of  that  beauti- 
ful object,  seemingly  fused  together,  yet  each  tint 
distinctly  visible,  until  overhead  it  deepens  into  a 
dark,  clear  blue,  set  with  countless  twinkling  stars. 
Gradually  all  these  colors  fade  away,  until  at  last 
only  a  faint  streak  is  left  to  show  where  the  sun 
went  down.  Each  evening  the  scene  is  changed, 
and  I  look  forward  with  pleasure  all  day  to  the 
time  when  these  splendid  natural  transformation 
scenes  begin. 

This  evening  the  western  sky  was  the  picture 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN.         It^ 

of  a  rocky  coast,  in  which  the  entrance  to  a  har- 
bor was  visible,  having  on  one  side  a  fort,  and  on 
the  other  a  light-house.  In  the  middle  of  this  open- 
ing a  small  cloud  gave  the  finishing-touch  to  the 
picture  by  slowly  rising  from  the  horizon,  looking 
as  if  a  ship  was  coming  out  between  the  headlands. 
The  moonrises,  too,  are  magnificent,  and  sometimes 
rival  the  sunsets  in  their  wild  and  startling  beauty. 

Monday  we  were  accompanied  by  more  birds 
than  on  any  day  at  all,  but  since  then  they  have 
gradually  left  us,  and  to-day  only  a  dozen  pigeons 
and  two  little  "  Mother  Carey's  Chickens,"  which 
turned  up  yesterday,  are  in  sight.  These  wee 
little  creatures  look  very  funny  in  comparison  to 
the  other  birds,  even  the  pigeons  looking  gigantic 
in  contrast. 

September  16. — All  the  morning  the  ship  was 
drenching  herself  with  spray,  which  for  an  hour 
fell  in  showers  as  far  aft  as  the  mainmast,  and 
one  extra  big  splash  completely  wet  a  man  on 
the  main  yard  and  passed  over  the  stern. 

September  \  7. — Ran  past  the  latitude  of  Robin- 
son Crusoe's  Island,  and  some  three  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  to  the  westward  of  it. 

September  18. — To-day  we  had  three  new  spe- 
cies of  birds  in  company,  some  largish  brown  fel- 
lows twice  the  size  of  the  pigeons,  and  wonder- 
ful divers ;  also  two  kinds  of  gray,  one  of  which 
I  caught,  and  have  his  wings.  Our  two  kittens 

h  10* 


U^  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

almost  go  crazy  whenever  I  catch  a  bird,  for  it 
means  fresh  meat  to  them,  and  the  way  they  im- 
prove the  opportunity  and  tackle  the  carcass  is  a 
caution. 

September  19  and  20. — Shifted  all  the  strong 
sails  for  the  old  ones  used  in  light-weather  re- 
gions. It  makes  a  big  job,  as  every  sail  on  the 
ship  has  been  changed  twice  except  the  mizzen- 
royal  and  spanker. 

September  2 1 . — This  morning  at  sunrise  sighted 
a  large  English  iron  ship,  bound  south ;  are  still 
in  sight  of  her.  She  has  been  drifting  about  in 
all  directions,  not  being  able  to  steer  as  easily  as 
we  do.  There  is  no  more  helpless  sight  than  a 
big  ship  totally  becalmed.  During  the  week  I 
have  started  to  keep  a  chart  of  our  daily  run.  It 
is  on  a  very  small  scale,  but  will  show  our  course 
and  the  distance  made  every  day  of  the  voyage. 

Last  evening,  during  the  first  dog-watch,  I  was 
on  the  foretop-gallant  yard,  and,  happening  to 
look  aft,  saw  a  flying-fish  attempt  to  pass  across 
the  ship,  but  come  to  grief  by  striking  the  main- 
sail. Mr.  D ,  who  was  on  deck,  off  duty, 

picked  it  up,  glanced  around,  and  then  walked 
aft  and  started  up  the  mizzen  rigging.  I  watched 
him  curiously,  and  was  astonished  to  see  him  pro- 
ceed all  the  way  up  to  the  royal  yard,  work  his 
way  out  on  it  to  windward,  and  carefully  stick  the 
dead  fish  into  the  extreme  point  of  the  yard,  shov- 


HTS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN.         TI^ 

ing  its  head,  as  I  afterwards  found  by  examination, 
into  a  large  crack.  He  then  descended  to  the 
deck.  It  was  evident  that  I  was  to  benefit  by  the 
performance,  and  as  I  did  not  want  him  to  know 
I  had  witnessed  his  little  game,  I  remained  hidden 
behind  the  mast  till  he  at  last  went  into  his  room, 
when  I  hurried  down  and  reached  the  after-cabin 
before  he  reappeared  on  deck.  After  waiting  till 
I  saw  him  come  out  I  followed  suit,  and  as  soon 
as  he  spied  me  he  spun  me  the  following  fib, 
which,  to  his  great  delight,  I  apparently  swallowed 
whole : 

""You  should  have  been  here  a  minuit  ago, 
Mr.  Mac ;  there  was  a  school  of  what  we  call 
sky-scrapers  went  across  the  ship,  and  it  isn't 
more'n  once  in  a  dozen  voyages  you'll  see  'em." 

"  What  are  sky-scrapers  ?"  I  asked,  innocently. 

"  Why,  they're  a  kind  of  flying-fish  that  fly  fifty 
times  as  high  as  the  reg'lar  sort,  and  don't  think 
nothin'  of  doin'  two  or  three  miles  at  a  lick.  I 
was  lookin'  out  to  windward,  when  I  saw  'em  rise 
about  a  thousand  yards  off  the  bow,  and  just  as 
they  got  to  us  the  whole  school  was  just  over  the 
mast-heads,  or  they'd  have  been  killed  by  the 
hundred.  They  made  a  whirr  like  just  so  many 
birds,  and  I  guess  they  must  have  gone  a  couple 
of  miles  to  leeward  afore  they  struck  water,  for  I 
couldn't  distinguish  no  splash,  tho'  I  ran  for  the 
glass  and  clapped  it  onto  'em  as  quick  as  I  could. 


TI5  A    LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

How  many  was  there?  Well,  I  should  say  four 
or  five  thousand,  and  it's  queer  you  didn't  notice 
the  whirr  they  made."  Then  looking  up  in  a 
natural  way,  he  suddenly  exclaimed,  "  Well,  blank 
my  eyes  if  one  feller  didn't  run  afoul  of  us,  and 
there  the  beggar  is,  a-stickin'  head  on  into  the 
mizzen-royal  yard,  dead  to  windward ;  see  him  ? 
Here,  Mike  (to  a  sailor  who  was  coiling  down 
some  halliards),  skip  aloft  there  to  the  weather 
end  of  the  mizzen-royal,  and  fetch  me  that  sky- 
scraper wot's  stickin'  there.  Look  lively,  now." 
And  the  astonished  tar  after  sighting  the  fish  pro- 
ceeded aloft,  coming  down  again  with  a  grin,  which 
showed  that  he  saw  the  officer's  racket  as  well  as 
I  did. 

"  You  see,"  said  the  second  mate,  as  the  sailor 
handed  him  the  fish,  "  these  sky-scrapers  looks 
like  the  common  kind,  and  it's  not  till  you  get  to 
know  'em  that  you  can  tell  'em  apart,  and  as 
they're  not  fit  to  eat  like  the  reg'lar  sort,  I'll 
chuck  this  feller  overboard."  And  so  saying, 
overboard  it  went. 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND   CAPE  HORN. 


117 


Table  for  week  ending  September  28. 

September  22. — Lat.  30°  i8x  S.  Run — 43  miles. 

Lon.  88°  40'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  71°. 

Weather  fine.     Calms  and  light  airs. 

September  23. — Lat.  29°  30'  S.  Run — 53  miles. 

Lon.  88°  32'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  65°. 

Light  showers  during  forenoon.     Squalls  all  round  the  horizon. 

September  24. — Lat.  27°  30'  S.  Run — 132  miles. 

Lon.  80°  2<y  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  68°. 

Superfine  day. 

September  25. —  Lat.  26°  22'  S.  Run — 106  miles. 

Lon.  90°  30'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  70°. 

Beautiful  day.     Got  S.  E.  trade  winds  at  2  P.M. 

September  26. — Lat.  24°  43'  S.  Run — 124  miles. 

Lon.  91°  46'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  70°. 

Weather  fine. 

September  27. — Lat.  22°  38'  S.  Run — 156  miles. 

Lon.  93°  29'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  71°. 

Weather  fine. 

September  28. — Lat.  20°  58'  S.  Run— 156  miles. 

Lon.  95°  24'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  73°. 

Slightly  overcast.     Water-spout.     Light  airs.     Moonlight  all  the  week. 


A    LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 


Table  for  week  ending  October  5. 

September  29. — Lat.  20°  07'  S.  Run — 83  miles. 

Lon.  96°  2O7  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  75°. 

Overcast  and  squally. 

/ 

September  30. — Lat.  18°  37'  S.  Run — 116  miles. 

Lon.  97°  35'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  73°. 

Fine  day.     Full  moon.     Beautiful  evening.     Not  a  cloud  visible. 

October  I. — Lat.  18°  20'  S.  Run — 109  miles. 

Lon.  98°  497  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  73°. 

Beautiful  day.     Light  airs. 

October  2.— Lat.  17°  34'  S.  Run— 86  miles. 

Lon.  90°  oc/  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  73°. 

Weather  fine.     Light  airs  and  calms  all  day.     Dead  calm  all  night. 
Bright  moon  and  cloudless  sky. 

October  3. — Lat.  17°  18'  S.  Run — 21  miles. 

Lon.  99°  oix  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  76°. 

Dead  calm  till  1 1  A.M.,  then  very  light  airs.     Heavy  rain-squall  and 
fresh  breeze  at  2  P.M. 

October  4. — Lat.  15°  2O/  S.  Run — 115  miles. 

Lon.  99°  38'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  74°. 

Rain-squalls  all  day. 

October  5. — Lat.  12°  56'  S.  Run— 1 80  miles. 

Lon.  101°  30-'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  75°. 
Very  fine  day. 


HIS   VOYAGE  AROUND   CAPE  HORN. 


119 


AT  SEA,  SUNDAY,  October  5. 

Two  most  discouraging  weeks  have  elapsed 
since  I  made  my  last  entry,  and  which  I  greatly 
fear  will  prevent  our  passage  getting  down  into 
the  teens,  as  we  had  confidently  hoped.  With  an 
ordinary  chance  we  would  have  to-day  been  up 
to  the  equator,  but  the  siege  of  calms  and  light, 
baffling  winds  we  have  undergone  has  retarded 
us  wofully,  and  from  one  hundred  and  twenty  to 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  days  will  most  likely 
be  our  run,  with  a  strong  probability  in  favor  of 
the  latter  figure  being  most  correct.  The  daily 
runs  marked  down  in  the  table  must  not  be  taken 
as  our  real  progress,  as  often  they  are  beyond  it. 
They  include  all  the  tacks  we  make,  and  thus  I 
often  put  down  fifty  or  sixty  miles  more  than  we 
really  proceed  towards  San  Francisco. 

The  following  are  the  incidents  I  have  noted 
down  for  the  last  two  weeks : 

• 

September  22. — During  the  morning  one  of  the 
sailors  reported  a  boat  drifting  about  to  the  east- 
ward, and  for  a  time  there  was  quite  a  sensation 
on  board ;  but  at  last  the  object  turned  out  to  be 
a  number  of  large  brown  birds  sitting  on  the 
water,  and  evidently  feeding  on  something.  Saw 
a  great  many  nautiluses. 


12Q  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

September  23. — School  of  about  a  dozen  right- 
whales  passed  within  quarter  of  a  mile  during 
the  forenoon.  This  species  blow  a  high  straight 
stream,  instead  of  the  short  puffs  given  by  the 
sperm-whales  that  we  saw  off  Pernambuco,  Brazil. 

September  25. — Second  mate  and  one  of  the 
sailors  indulge  in  a  short  row ;  one  round  fought, 
resulting  in  victory  for  the  second  mate. 

September  26. — Slid  down  the  fore-royal-stay. 

September  28. — Saw  a  water-spout  form  to  the 
northeast.  It  began  by  slowly  descending  in  the 
shape  of  an  inverted  cone,  the  end  swaying  from 
side  to  side  until  near  the  surface,  when  a  body 
of  water  leaped  up  and  joined  it,  and  the  whole 
thing  drifted  off  to  the  northeast.  The  phenom- 
enon occurred  during  a  calm  and  at  sunset.  Fly- 
ing-fish about  again. 

October  3. — Spent  the  afternoon  shooting  at 
bottles  towing  astern.  Saw  a  barkentine  bound 
south  from  California. 

October  5. — Flying-fish  for  breakfast.  They  are 
very  numerous,  and  can  be  caught  at  night  by 
hanging  a  fine  net  in  the  bowsprit  rigging  with  a 
lantern  in  it,  which  attracts  the  fish,  and  they  fly 
for  it,  and  thus  become  entangled  in  the  net. 
Many  thus  caught  are  too  small  to  cook.  Sev- 
eral "boson"  birds  about.  These  birds  are  the 
size  of  a  chicken,  and  are  pure  white  with  scarlet 
beaks.  In  flying  they  have  a  very  labored  move- 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  'HORN.         I2i 

ment,  seeming  as  though  they  were  completely 
tired  out ;  at  night  they  often  perch  on  the  ends  of 
the  yard-arms.  They  fly  about  as  high  as  the  tip 
of  the  mast-heads,  and  never  seem  to  go  down  to 
the  surface  to  feed.  As  they  fly  they  utter  the 
most  dismal  noise  I  ever  heard  a  bird  let  loose. 
It  sounds  like  a  batch  of  weak  puppies  learning 
to  bark.  The  name  "  boson"  is  an  abbreviation 
of  the  word  boatswain,  and  they  are  so  called  be- 
cause they  have  a  long,  straight  feather  the  shape 
of  a  marline-spike  sticking  out  behind  their  tails. 
On  shipboard  the  boatswain  is  the  man  who  has 
charge  of  the  small  gear,  such  as  marline-spikes, 
spun-yarn,  etc.  ;  hence  the  bird's  name.  I  have 
not  seen  any  since  Monday  afternoon,  when  we 
attempted  to  shoot  one  and  frightened  them  all 
away. 

After  passing  thirty  degrees  south  we  began  to 
expect  the  southeast  trade  winds,  which  generally 
blow  with  great  regularity  from  about  that  point  up 
to  two  or  three  degrees  north  of  the  equator.  Once 
in  these,  a  captain  need  not  trouble  himself  much, 
for  they  blow  steadily,  and  with  very  little  variation 
all  the  year  round,  and  it  is  all  fair  sailing  for  days 
and  weeks  without  change.  At  2  P.M.  on  the  26th 
of  September,  in  twenty-six  degrees  south,  we  ran 
into  them,  and  thought  we  were  fixed  at  last  for  a 
fine  run  to  the  northward,  but  after  a  day  or  so  of 
fair  to  middling  breezes  the  wind  failed  us,  and  we 

F  II 


122  A    LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

have  been  progressing  through  the  very  heart  of 
the  trade-wind  region  (when  we  should  have  been 
reeling  off  over  two  hundred  miles  a  day),  with  a 
wretched  chance  up  to  yesterday  afternoon,  when 
they  began  to  blow  in  earnest,  and  as  I  write  the 
ship  is  again  boiling  along  at  a  ten-knot  rate, 
splashing  the  lower  deck  with  spray,  and  seeming 
to  enjoy  the  change  as  much  as  any  of  the  officers 
or  men.  The  captain,  whose  disappointment  at 
being  set  back  so  is  very  great,  is  commencing  to 
smile  again,  and  in  fact  all  hands  from  the  boy  up 
feel  brighter,  for  there  is  nothing  that  grows  so 
tiresome  as  a  long  drawn  out  spell  of  calms  or 
baffling  winds. 

I  will  here  note  a  few  changes  that  have  taken 

o 

place  in  my  manner  of  passing  time.  I  read  a 
great  deal  more  than  I  did  at  first,  and  have  pol- 
ished off  the  entire  series  of  the  late  Mr.  Shak- 
speare's  writings,  as  well  as  several  of  Marryat's, 
Cooper's,  and  Lever's  novels,  and  a  miscellaneous 
assortment  of  history,  travels,  and  science.  Hav- 
ing pretty  well  learned  the  ship  from  the  end  of 
the  jib-boom  to  the  end  of  the  spanker-boom,  and 
from  main  truck  to  keelson,  I  have  stopped  asking 
questions  and  studying  the  rigging  as  for  the  first 
two  months  at  sea.  Neither  do  I  do  as  much 
climbing  as  formerly,  the  novelty  having  worn  off, 
but  when  I  do  start  aloft,  I  never  stop  short  of  the 
royal  yards,  the  highest  possible  perch.  I  remem- 


MIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  NORN.         I2^ 

\J 

her  the  first  time  I  went  aloft,  I  trembled  so  that  I 
was  afraid  I  should  fall,  but  now  the  main  royal 
yard  feels  as  comfortable  as  the  deck.  Several 
times  I  have  climbed  from  the  deck  to  the  mast- 
head without  touching  the  regular  ladders,  and  on 
the  26th  of  September  incurred  the  displeasure  of 
the  captain  for  the  first  time,  by  sliding  down  the 
fore-royal-stay  in  a  moment  of  thoughtless  bravado. 
The  fore-royal-stay  is  the  rope  extending  from 
the  point  of  the  bowsprit  to  the  peak  of  the  fore- 
mast, and  after  I  had  started  on  my  dangerous 
journey  I  would  have  given  worlds  to  have  been 
back  on  the  royal  yard,  but  it  was  go  ahead  or 
nothing,  and  so  I  at  last  reached  the  point  of  the 
jib-boom  with  well-torn  clothes  and  nerves  pretty 
well  unstrung.  As  I  said  before,  I  read  more  than 
at  first,  and  generally  give  the  whole  afternoon 

to  it,  and  often  the  evenings  too.     Mr.  X 's 

nightly  performances  on  the  mouth-organ  are, how- 
ever, rather  discouraging  to  any  one's  attempt  to 
get  interested  in  a  book.  He  still  continues  to  wade 
through  his  tremendous  supply  of  "  New  York 
Weeklies,"  and  takes  his  afternoon  nap  with  clock- 
like  regularity.  Although  now  three  months  out, 
he  is  still  in  dense  ignorance  of  anything  about  the 
ship's  rigging,  in  regard  to  either  its  name  or  use, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  he  will  continue  in  his  indif- 
ference to  the  end  of  the  voyage.  In  some  mat- 
ters he  is  painfully  green,  and  the  second  mate 


124  A   LAN DLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

taking  advantage  of  the  fact,  "  stuffs"  him  fear- 
fully, much  to  the  delight  of  the  mate,  who  is  also 
beginning  to  practise  on  his  credulity.  The  other 
day  when  we  were  shooting,  Mr.  X-  -  attempted 
to  load  a  shot-gun,  and  just  as  he  was  about  to 
take  aim  at  a  pigeon,  the  captain  asked  him  how 
much  powder  he  had  in  the  gun,  as  it  was  an  old 
one,  and  should  not  be  loaded  too  heavily.  This 
led  to  an  explanation  on  Mr.  X-  — 's  part,  of  the 
ludicrous  fact  that  he  had  put  the  powder  and  shot 
in  together,  and  then  rammed  them  down  without 
any  wad.  He  then  said  it  had  been  some  time 
since  he  had  been  gunning  ! 

For  the  past  two  weeks  the  ship  has  been  un- 
dergoing her  regular  annual  overhauling,  and 
although  not  yet  finished  is  already  vastly  changed, 
and  in  a  short  time  she  will  look  like  a  new  ship. 
Every  mast,  spar,  and  boom  has  been  carefully 
scraped,  sand-papered,  and  oiled,  and  as  most  of 
the  sticks  are  of  Oregon  pine,  a  beautifully  marked 
and  colored  timber,  the  effect  aloft  is  very  hand- 
some. The  masts  proper  (i.e.,  the  first  or  princi- 
pal sticks)  are  scraped  with  regular  cabinet- 
scrapers  as  carefully  as  possible,  and  then  sand- 
papered, and  given  several  coats  of  oil,  after  which 
they  are  as  smooth  as  satin.  They  are  in  one 
piece,  instead  as  is  generally  the  case  in  large 
ships  being  made  of  several  separate  pieces,  in 
which  case  they  are  called  made  masts.  When 


HIS    VOYAGE   AROUND    CAPE  HORN.        ^5 

thus  scraped  and  oiled  they  are  as  delicately 
colored  as  a  meerschaum  pipe,  and  are  truly 
beautiful  bits  of  timber.  As  a  finishing  touch, 
they  will  be  given  a  coat  of  varnish  before  going 
into  port. 

The  oil  that  is  used  on  the  yards  is  mixed  with 
rosin,  which  gives  them  a  shining  look  when  the 
sun  is  out.  All  the  rigging  has  been  straightened 
up  and  freshly  tarred,  and  is  as  black  and  glisten- 
ing as  jet.  The  deck  has  been  holystoned  and 
oiled,  and  now  the  paint-work  all  over  the  vessel 
is  undergoing  a  hard  scrubbing,  preparatory  to 
being  repainted,  which  step,  with  a  little  extra 
polishing  on  the  brass-work,  will  complete  the 
transformation  of  the  old  ship  into  a  new  one,  as 
far  as  appearances  are  concerned.  All  the  ships 
going  into  San  Francisco  go  through  just  this  pro- 
gramme, so  that  at  that  city  you  see  them  at  their 
best,  and  nowhere,  according  to  the  captain,  are 
the  efforts  of  the  captains  in  getting  their  ships 
into  first-class  trim  more  appreciated.  In  our 
case,  no  more  care  could  be  taken  in  the  manner 
the  work  is  done  if  it  was  a  gentleman's  drawing- 
room  that  was  being  overhauled. 


ii* 


126  A   LANDLUBBERS  LOG   OF 


Table  for  week  ending  October  12. 

October  6.— Lat.  10°  55'  S.  Run— 160  miles. 

Lon.  103°  4<y  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  76°. 

Very  fine  day.     "  Bosons"  numerous. 

October  7.— Lat.  8°  52'  S.  Run— 199  miles. 

Lon.  1 06°  21'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  76°. 

Weather  beautiful. 

October  8.— Lat.  6°  18'  S.  Run— 211  miles. 

Lon.  109°  04'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  78°. 

Day  fine.     Very  hot  in  sun.     Heavy  dew. 

October  9. — Lat.  4°  03'  S.  Run — 182  miles. 

Lon.  ill0  04'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  78°. 

Fine  day.     Very  heavy  dew  after  sunset. 

October  10. — Lat.  2°  05'  S.  Run — 157  miles. 

Lon.  113°  02'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  76°. 

Fine  day.     Dew  still  very  heavy  at  night. 

October  u. — Lat.  o°  26'  S.  Run — 122  miles. 

Lon.  114°  20'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  75°. 

Beautiful  day.     Crossed  the  equator  at  4.30  P.M.     Very  light  breezes. 

October  12. — Lat.  o°  52'  N.  Run — 97  miles. 

Lon.  115°  26'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  73°. 

Overcast.     Light  airs.     Saw  north  star  again. 

The  ship  crossed  the  line  yesterday  afternoon.  Just  ninety-five  days 
from  Cape  May,  on  longitude  114°  40'  W.,  after  sailing  thirteen  thousand 
five  hundred  and  ninety  miles,  a  daily  average  of  a  trifle  over  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-three  miles,  or  about  six  knots  an  hour.  The  run  from 
50°  S.  occupied  thirty-one  days,  which  is  behind  the  average  by  several 
days.  This  was  caused  by  an  unexpected  amount  of  calms,  and  the  very 
weak  character  of  the  southeast  trade  winds. 


HIS   VOYAGE   AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 


AT  SEA,  SUNDAY,  October  12. 

OVER  the  equator  at  last,  and  the  fifth,  or  con- 
cluding, stage  of  the  voyage  begun.  There  is 
something  very  satisfactory  in  crossing  this  im- 
aginary line,  and  in  knowing  that  the  voyage  is 
actually  drawing  to  a  close.  Not  that  I'm  in  any 
particular  hurry  to  get  ashore,  or  tired  of  the  life 
at  sea ;  but  then  you  can  get  too  much  of  even  a 
good  thing,  and  after  more  than  a  month  longer 
of  this  lazy  humdrum  life  I  feel  certain  I  should 

begin  to  fret.  Mr.  X has  been  growling  on 

the  subject  for  a  week  back. 

I  will  have  quite  enough  to  keep  me  just  pleas- 
antly busy  during  the  next  four  weeks  in  finishing 
up  my  journal,  letters,  and  charts.  By  that  time 
we  hope  to  be  safely  made  fast  to  a  San  Francisco 
wharf.  This  week  I  have  to  record  a  most  painful 
and  tragic  event,  the  first  accident  of  the  voyage. 
I  allude  to  the  drowning,  on  Tuesday,  October  7, 
of  one  of  the  sailors,  a  man  much  liked  on  board, 
and  who,  poor  fellow,  was  taking  his  last  voyage 
before  settling  down  with  his  family  and  friends  in 
one  of  the  Western  States ;  it  has  indeed  proved 
to  be  his  last,  but  in  a  way  he  little  expected.  He 
was  a  man  I  mentioned  as  being  quite  a  good 


I2g  A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

barber ;  he  probably  did  his  last  job  in  that  line 
when  he  cut  my  hair  two  weeks  ago  to-day.  While 
doing  so  he  told  me  that  he  had  been  at  sea  sev- 
eral years,  but  was  as  poor  as  when  he  started, 
and  that  on  reaching  'Frisco  he  intended  leaving 
the  sea  to  go  and  work  on  the  farm  of  a  relative 
in  Wisconsin. 

October  7. — This  has  been  a  most  eventful  day, 
and  one  that  will  remain  impressed  on  my  mem- 
ory for  a  long  time.  When  the  captain  went  on 
deck  about  six  o'clock  he  caught  one  of  the 
sailors — a  Swede  called  "  Charley,"  who  is  as 
surly  a  looking  fellow  as  one  could  imagine — 
pouring  turpentine  over  the  little  tomcat,  much 
to  the  disgust  of  the  poor  beast,  which  was  moan- 
ing pitifully.  The  captain  came  very  near  strik- 
ing the  man,  so  incensed  was  he ;  but  there  being 
several  other  sailors  in  sight  he  didn't  care  to 
make  an  exhibition,  so  merely  ordered  the  man 
to  wash  pussy  in  soap  and  water,  and  to  do 
double  duty  all  day, — that  is,  not  to  turn  in  when 
his  watch  did,  but  work  with  both  watches.  At 
breakfast  we  were  discussing  the  rascally  act,  and 
the  mate  quietly  made  up  his  mind  to  give  Mr. 
Charley  a  licking  ;  so  after  breakfast  he  went  for- 
ward, called  the  culprit  into  the  carpenter-shop, 
and  there  proceeded  to  give  him  a  thorough  good 
thrashing,  during  which  the  man  bellowed  like 
a  two-horse-power  calf.  The  funny  side  of  the 


HIS    VOYAGE   AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 

incident  was  that  a  poor  Dutchman  called  Hans, 
who  has  about  as  much  sense  as  a  piece  of  putty, 
on  hearing  Charlie's  yells  came  running  aft,  think- 
ing that  some  one  had  fallen  from  aloft,  and  the 
second  mate,  supposing  he  was  going  to  pitch  into 
the  mate,  let  poor  innocent  Hans  have  a  rap  on 
the  jaw  that  rather  surprised  him,  and  without 
waiting  to  see  what  the  matter  was,  "  Dutchy" 
scuttled  back  into  the  fo'castle  as  fast  as  he  could. 
At  a  quarter-past  ten  o'clock,  as  I  was  sitting 
in  the  captain's  cabin  writing,  I  heard  shouting  on 
the  deck,  and  at  first  supposed  the  fight  was  being 
renewed.  Running1  out,  I  saw  the  entire  crew 

o 

leaning  over  the  weather-rail,  shouting  and  ges- 
ticulating, and  I  of  course  knew  that  some  one  was 
overboard.  As  I  reached  the  side  the  man  swept 
past,  holding  on  to  a  rope.  The  ship  was  running 
very  fast  and  the  sea  was  quite  rough,  so  that  the 
strain  on  the  man's  strength  must  have  been  ter- 
rible. The  captain  instantly  ordered  the  helm 
"  hard  down,"  as  the  man  was  to  windward,  and 
"  Chips"  and  I  helped  the  helmsman  to  roll  the 
wheel  down.  By  the  time  the  ship  came  up  into 
the  wind,  which  she  did  very  quickly,  the  poor 
fellow's  strength  was  exhausted,  and  from  the 
starboard  quarter  he  could  be  seen  some  ten  feet 
under  water  towing  feet  foremost,  the  rope  hav- 
ing become  tangled  about  his  legs  before  he 
could  get  loose  from  it.  For  some  time  it  was 


A    LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

impossible  to  get  hold  of  the  line  he  was  attached 
to,  as  it  ran  from  out  on  the  jib-boom  down  under 
the  vessel  and  was  fouled  there,  so  that  for  at 
least  five  minutes  after  the  ship  was  stopped  the 
body  hung  suspended  in  the  water.  At  last,  after 
several  violent  efforts,  the  line  was  shaken  loose  of 
the  keel  and  the  body  slowly  and  carefully  hauled 
alongside,  just  forward  of  the  main  shrouds.  The 
line  had  by  this  time  slipped  clown,  and  was  only 
tangled  about  one  foot.  Taking  with  him  a  rope's 
end  made  into  a  noose,  one  of  the  sailors  lowered 
himself  over  the  side  and  made  it  fast  to  the  body, 
which  was  then  gently  hoisted  to  the  rail  and  laid 
on  the  deck.  For  nearly  three  hours  the  captain 
and  men  worked  to  restore  the  poor  fellow  to 
life,  adopting  the  methods  given  in  the  book  is- 
sued by  the  United  States  Life-Saving  Station, 
but  without  success.  The  dreadful  wrenching  the 
body  had  undergone  while  towing  under  the 
quarter  had  extinguished  every  spark  of  life, 
even  if  the  water  had  not.  The  body  was  rubbed 
and  chafed  to  give  it  warmth,  various  movements 
calculated  to  start  respiration  were  kept  up  the 
whole  time  ;  hartshorn  was  applied  to  the  nos- 
trrls,  and  hot-water  bottles  under  the  armpits  and 
to  the  feet.  At  half-past  one,  not  the  slightest 
signs  of  returning  life  being  noticed,  the  attempt 
was  given  up  and  the  body  was  taken  forward 
under  the  top-gallant  fo'castle.  It  seems  that  the 


HIS    VOYAGE   AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 

man  had  been  painting  one  of  the  forward  stays, 
and  having  finished  the  job  was  coming  in  over 
the  jib-boom,  with  the  line  to  which  he  was  sus- 
pended still  fastened  around  his  waist.  This  line 
ran  from  the  deck  up  over  the  fore-royal  yard  and 
down  the  stay  to  where  the  man  was  working, 
being  there  attached  to  a  kind  of  sling  called  a 
"  boatswain's  chair,"  in  which  the  man  sat  while 
at  work. 

As  he  painted  the  stay  he  called  out  when  he 
wished  to  be  lowered  farther  down,  and  another 
sailor  on  deck  eased  off  some  more  line,  making 
fast  again  when  the  painter  gave  the  signal.  The 
deck  end  of  the  line  ran  out  of  a  coil  of  rope, 
and,  when  the  painting  was  finished,  the  fastening 
was  taken  off,  so  that  it  would  run  out  freely  as 
the  man  came  in  from  the  end  of  the  jib-boom. 
When  about  half-way  in,  he  slipped  and  fell  over- 
board, and  the  line  running  freely  from  the  coil 
on  deck  (which  was  a  very  long  one),  he  would 
have  been  enabled  to  drift  along  astern,  and  dis- 
entangle himself  from  the  "  boson's  chair,"  had 
not  a  sailor  on  deck  very  naturally  stopped  the 
running  line,  and  commenced  hauling  in  on  it. 
When  all  the  slack  already  loose  had  run  out, 
and  before  the  poor  fellow  had  got  loose  from  the 
"  chair,"  he  was  suddenly  brought  up  with  a  very 
violent  jerk,  and  probably  lost  consciousness  at 
that  moment.  Had  he  managed  to  get  free  be- 


132 


A   LANDLUBBERS  LOG    OF 


fore  being  thus  wrenched,  he  would  in  all  prob- 
ability have  been  saved,  for  he  could  swim,  and  the 
life-buoys  were  in  readiness  to  be  thrown  to  him 
as  he  came  astern.  The  sea  was  also  in  a  per- 
fectly safe  condition  to  launch  a  boat. 

During  the  afternoon  the  body  was  dressed  and 
wrapped  up  in  two  old  blankets  that  were  found 
in  his  chest.  Over  these  his  hammock  was  se- 
curely sewed,  a  large  bagful  of  iron  being  fast- 
ened inside  at  his  feet,  and  the  whole  thing  tightly 
bound  around  with  tarred  rope-yarn.  At  five 
o'clock  all  hands  were  called  to  the  main  deck,  the 
main  yard  was  backed,  bringing  the  ship  to  a 
stand-still,  and  the  body,  covered  with  an  Amer- 
ican ensign,  laid  out  on  a  large  plank,  which  was 
placed  on  the  main  hatch.  All  hands  standing- 
uncovered,  the  captain  read  a  chapter  from  the 
Bible  appropriate  to  the  occasion,  and  part  of 
the  burial  service  for  funerals  at  sea,  and  then 
at  a  signal  the  flag  was  taken  off,  the  body  was 
slowly  carried  to  the  port  side  and  launched  over- 
board from  the  plank,  just  opposite  to  where  it  had 
been  hauled  on  board  in  the  morning.  A  minute 

o 

later  the  yard  was  swung  around,  the  sails  began 
to  fill  away,  and  soon  we  were  again  ploughing 
along,  the  beautiful  afternoon  and  bright  appear- 
ance on  the  ship  seeming  in  ill  keeping  with  the 
solemn  ceremony  that  had  just  been  performed. 
According  to  the  ship's  articles,  the  man's  name 


HIS    VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 

was  George  Holgerson,  a  native  of  Denmark ;  on 
board  he  was  called  "  Frank."  He  was  in  the 
mate's  watch,  and  was  a  favorite  with  the  other 
sailors,  who  seemed  very  sorry  at  his  death. 

Since  the  "  Pactolus"  was  launched,  fifteen  years 
ago,  this  is  but  the  second  man  ever  lost  out  of 
her,  the  first  being  a  steward,  who  fell  overboard 
in  a  gale  of  wind  off  Staten  Land,  the  place  we 
passed  September  i.  That  happened  some  ten 
years  ago. 

October  9. — Flying-fish  around  in  countless 
thousands. 

October  10. — The  huge  schools  of  flying-fish 
continue  to  remain  in  company,  and  I  never  tire 
watching  their  sharp  flights  through  the  air. 

October  \  i. — Crossed  the  equator  bound  north. 
Schools  of  bonitas  under  the  bows  all  the  fore- 
noon. These  fish  are  about  as  big  as  a  large 
shad,  and  are  exceedingly  pretty.  They  are 
brightly  colored,  the  tints  being  blue  and  pink, 
but  not  so  brilliant  as  the  dolphins.  While  sit- 
ting on  the  upper  foretop-sail  yard  during  the 
afternoon,  I  saw  a  sperm-whale  blow  once  or 
twice,  and  then  fluke  or  dive.  This  was  Mr. 

X 's  birthday,  and  the  captain  burned  some 

blue-lights  in  the  evening  in  honor  of  the  occa- 
sion, making  a  very  pretty  effect. 

October  12. — This  afternoon  saw  two  large  tur- 
tles lying  on  the  surface  of  the  water  fast  asleep. 


12 


134 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 


They  are  numerous  about  here,  being  carried  out 
by  the  current  from  the  Galapagos  Islands,  a  group 
that  belongs  to  Equador,  and  lies  on  the  equator 
in  longitude  80°  west.  These  islands  are  cele- 
brated for  the  vast  numbers  of  turtles  found 
there.  In  fact,  I  believe  the  name  means  the 
Tortoise  Archipelago.  If  it  had  been  calm  we 
should  have  got  a  boat  over  and  caught  one,  for 
they  are  very  tame ;  but  while  we  have  the  slight- 
est breeze  the  captain  won't  hear  of  stopping. 
This  is  a  great  pity,  for  they  were  splendid  big 
fellows,  and  would  have  made  an  alderman's 
mouth  water.  Also  saw  a  school  of  albacores, 
a  large  fish  something  like  a  porpoise,  only  much 
quicker  in  their  movements  ;  they  go  along  like 
an  express-train,  jumping  far  out  of  water  every 
little  while.  As  I  am  finishing  this  the  mate  calls 
down  that  the  north  star  is  in  sight.  We  are  a 
week  behind  the  time  I  gave  for  seeing  it  again, 
when  we  crossed  the  equator  bound  south. 


HIS    VOYAGE   AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 


Table  for  iveek  ending  October  19. 

October  13. — Lat.  2°  43'  N.  Run — 128  miles. 

Lon.  117°  O3/  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  76°. 

Fine  clay. 

October  14. — Lat.  4°  49'  N.  Run — 132  miles. 

Lon.  118°  12'  W.  Temp   at  noon,  78°. 

Fine  day.     Hot  in  sun.     Very  light  breezes. 

* 

October  15. — Lat.  6°  o8x  N.  Run — 97  miles. 

Lon.  118°  23'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  80°. 

Lost  S.  E.  trades  in  6°  15'  N.,  and  got  into  the  doldrums  !     Hot ! 

October  1 6. — Lat.  7°  22'  N.  Run — 92  miles. 

Lon.  1 1 8°  40'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  84°. 

Dead  calm.  Rain  at  intervals.  Very  hot.  Ship  becalmed  in  trough 
of  sea  all  night,  rolling  badly.  One  hundredth  day  at  sea. 

October  17. — Lat.  7°  34'  N.  Run — 6  miles. 

Lon.  118°  30'  \V.  Temp,  at  noon,  82°. 

Calm.  Hot.  Very  hard  rain-squalls  towards  evening.  Dolphins  about 
in  large  numbers. 

October  18.— Lat.  8°  14'  N.  Run— 48  miles. 

Lon.  118°  39X  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  84°. 

Calm  all  day.  Very  hot.  Porpoises  about ;  also  sharks  ;  caught  one. 
Torrents  of  rain  in  the  afternoon,  and  all  night.  Several  stiff"  squalls,  and 
sharp  lightning  during  the  night  (no  thunder).  Sea  very  rough  and  ugly. 

October  19. — Lat.  9°  21 '  N.  Run — 80  miles. 

Lon.  118°  4<y  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  82°. 

Overcast,  with  much  rain.  Sea  running  high.  Very  squally  towards 
evening.  "  Dirty"  night. 

Doldrums !  doldrums  !!  DOLDRUMS  ! ! !  and  the  passage  hopelessly  spoiled. 
The  ocean  currents  are  very  strong  down  here  ;  for  instance,  on  the  1 3th 
we  had  a  lift  of  eighty-four  miles  to  the  westward  by  the  current  alone.  I 
have  enjoyed  the  rains  very  much,  skipping  about  the  decks  in  a  bathing- 
suit. 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 


AT  SEA,  October  19. 

WE  have  certainly  had  very  poor  luck  this  side 
of  "  the  Cape,"  and  the  past  week  has  been  about 
the  worst  of  the  voyage.  Several  times  during 
the  week  the  ship  lost  'steerage-way,  and  help- 
lessly rolled  about  in  the  trough  of  the  sea. 

October  13. — Saw  a  man-of-war  hawk,  a  large 
bird  looking  like  an  eagle,  and  having  the  same 
flight. 

October  15. — My  twenty-first  birthday. 

October  16. — One  hundredth  day  out.  Saw  five 
turtles,  and  a  ship  bound  south  from  San  Fran- 
cisco. She  was  too  far  away  to  go  to  her,  or  we 
would  have  lowered  a  boat  and  gone  after  some 
newspapers. 

October  17. — Made  six  miles  by  sailing,  and 
drifted  ten  more.  Two  turtles  and  many  dol- 
phins. The  latter  would  not  bite  to-day.  Have 
got  the  harpoon  ready,  should  a  turtle  float  wjthin 
range. 

October  18. — Porpoises  about  all  day.  They 
are  so  lazy  that  they  only  float  about,  instead  of 
playing  and  jumping  in  their  usual  way.  Several 
very  ugly  sharks  astern.  Caught  one  on  our  big 
hook,  which  is  a  foot  long.  He  was  the  smallest 


HIS    VOYAGE   AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 

of  the  lot,  and  also  the  greediest.  Measured  seven 
feet  nine  inches.  Had  a  steak  for  tea.  It  tasted 
like  a  quinine  pill.  Very  disagreeable  night. 

Mr.  B showed  me  his  tattooing  the  other 

day.  He  is  a  regular  walking  art-gallery.  The 
designs  on  his  arms  are  very  elaborate, — full- 
rigged  ships,  arms  of  all  nations,  flags,  initials,  etc. 

On  my  birthday  we  had  two  small  bottles  of 
"  Roederer"  for  dinner,  to  drink  to  the  health  of 
those  at  home,  who  would,  I  was  quite  sure,  be 
doing  the  same  in  honor  of  the  event,  and  in  the 
evening  launched  a  flaming  tar-barrel  overboard. 
The  effect  was  very  good  as  it  rose  and  fell  on 
the  waves.  During  the  rains  of  the  week  we 
have  filled  every  spare  barrel  and  cask  on  board. 

Since  writing  the  above,  the  man  sent  aloft  just 
before  sunset  reported  a  vessel  over  the  starboard 
bow.  On  going  aloft  with  a  glass  I  found  her  to 
be  a  full-rigged  ship  with  main  skysail  yard.  A 
moment  later  saw  another,  same  size  and  rig,  in 
the  same  direction.  They  are  now  ten  miles 
ahead.  We  feel  sure  one  is  our  old  friend  and 
rival,  the  "  Spinney."  The  night  is  very  dirty- 
looking,  with  rough  cross-sea  and  squalls. 


12* 


138 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG   OF 


Table  for  week  ending  October  26. 

October  20. — Lat.  10°  17'  N.  Run — 93  miles. 

Lon.  119°  03'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  82°. 

Weather  very  fine.     Moderate  "trades." 

October  21. — Lat.  11°  26'  N.  Run — 118  miles. 

Lon.  120°  3<y  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  83°. 

Beautiful  day.     Heavy  head-sea. 

October  22. — Lat.  13°  i6/  N.  Run — 134  miles. 

Lon.  121°  56'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  82°. 

Beautiful  day.     Flying-fish  very  numerous. 

October  23  — Lat.  15°  29'  N.  Run — 167  miles. 

Lon.  123°  19'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  82°. 

Weather  fine.     Fresh  "  trades." 

October  24. — Lat.  18°  39'  N.  Run — 219  miles. 

Lon.  125°  10'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  77°. 

Overcast  and  damp.  Very  fresh  trades.  Head-sea  from  N.  W.  build- 
ing up  all  day.  Very  rough  all  night.  Much  water  coming  over  the  rail. 

October  25. — Lat.  21°  28'  N.  Run — 224  miles. 

Lon.  127°  35'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  71°. 

Overcast  and  damp.  Breeze  fresh  and  strong.  Sea  rough  all  day. 
Towards  evening  and  all  night  much  increased,  and  ship  pitching  directly 
into  it.  At  7  P.M.  split  main  top-gallant-sail  in  a  squall. 

October  26. — Lat.  23°  39'  N.  Run — 182  miles. 

Lon.  129°  38'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  70°. 

Overcast  and  gloomy.  Sea  more  moderate.  Very  damp  all  clay.  The 
early  part  of  the  past  week  was  extra  fine, — the  evenings  being  moonlight 
and  the  sea  smooth.  Friday,  Saturday,  and  Sunday  a  great  change  for 
the  worse.  Sailed  this  week  eleven  hundred  and  thirty- seven  miles. 
Daily  average  one  hundred  and  sixty-one  and  three-sevenths  miles. 


HIS   VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 


139 


AT  SEA,  SUNDAY,  October  26. 

ELEVEN  hundred  and  thirty-seven  miles  of  briny 
deep  left  astern  since  noon  of  last  Sunday,  and 
at  that  hour  to-day  the  fort  at  the  entrance  to  San 
Francisco  harbor  bears  N.  31°  E.  eight  hundred 
and  forty  miles.  To  make  those  eight  hundred 
and  forty  miles  will,  however,  be  a  slow  job,  and 
we  are  likely  to  sail  twice  that  far  before  the  coast 
of  California  looms  up  and  shows  us  that  the 
passage  is  ended.  It  is  well  that  the  voyage  is 
nearly  over,  for  I  would  have  to  begin  wearing 
my  better  clothes  very  soon,  the  old  ones  are  lit- 
erally in  rags.  Sculling  about  aloft  is  very  hard 
on  clothes,  and  wears  them  out  almost  as  fast  as 
you  can  mend  them.  My  mending  is  very  artistic 
and  quite  picturesque,  but  would  hardly  pass  cur- 
rent on  shore.  I  have  one  pair  of  trowsers  of  a 
brown  color  that  are  patched  with  white  canvas, 
and  a  gray  pair  with  a  dark-blue  seat  and  a  strip 
of  red  about  the  left  knee.  I  have  also  had  to 
sew  on  lots  of  buttons,  and  though  the  work  is  not 
very  beautifully  done,  I'll  warrant  the  buttons  won't 
drop  off  in  a  hurry.  The  steward  would  do  this 
for  me  if  I  wanted  him  to,  but  I  do  it  to  help  pass 
away  the  time. 

October  20.— The  two  ships  that  so  suddenly 


140 


A    LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 


appeared  yesterday  afternoon  were  nowhere  to 
be  seen  to-day,  nor  have  we  sighted  them  since. 

October  21. — I  spent  the  entire  forenoon  on  the 
main  royal  yard,  from  which  perch  you  can  see 
about  thirty  miles  each  way,  or  an  entire  degree, — 
I  mean,  of  course,  when  the  weather  is  perfectly 
clear, — and  while  there  discovered  a  large  English 
iron  ship,  bound  south.  She  passed  about  fifteen 
miles  to  the  westward  of  us.  Also  saw  a  really 
monstrous  hammer-head  shark.  The  rascal  nearly 
chewed  our  patent  log  out  of  shape. 

October  22. — The  flying-fish  were  about  all  day 
in  vast  numbers,  but  were  very  small  ones.  They 
rise  on  each  side  of  and  in  front  of  the  ship,  and 
fly  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  before  diving 
down.  It  looks  as  though  a  discharge  of  grape- 
shot  from  a  man-of-war  had  been  fired.  I  hap- 
pened to  remark  to  the  second  mate  that  the  fish 
were  very  numerous,  when  he  gravely  informed 
me,  backing  up  the  assertion  with  a  choice  sea 
oath,  that  on  one  occasion  he  had  seen  the  flying- 
fish  so  thick  that  he  had  put  on  a  pair  of  snow- 
shoes  and  walked  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  ship 
on  their  backs,  and  that  the  fish  suddenly  disap- 
pearing he  came  mighty  near  being  drowned  be- 
fore he  got  back.  Also  saw  several  large  gulls, 
and  a  big  bird  called  a  booby  roosted  all  night  on 
one  of  the  upper  yards.  Made  out  a  ship  bound 
north,  twenty-five  miles  to  the  westward.  Only 


HIS    VOYAGE   AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 

could  make  out  'her  royals  and  top-gallant-sails ; 
saw  her  for  about  two  hours  ;  it  then  grew  hazy 
and  we  lost  her. 

October  25. — To-night  reminds  me  of  that  on 
which  we  came  into  the  Pacific, — the  wind  being 
the  same,  and  also  the  sea  and  clouds  scudding 
over  the  moon.  At  seven  o'clock  on  this  evening 
our  main  top-gallant-sail  split  into  ribbons  during 
a  squall. 

October  26. — To-day  we  ran  into  the  latitude  of 
the  United  States.  Our  time  is  about  three  and 
a  half  hours  behind  that  in  Philadelphia.  There 
is  a  large  ugly  bird  flying  about  called  a  gonez; 
they  are  very  numerous  a  little  farther  north. 
The  Cape  pigeons,  greedy  as  they  are,  do  not 
begin  to  be  as  piggish  as  these  fellows  and  are  no 
tamer.  Saw  a  large  log  and  a  stump  floating  in 
the  sea.  These  somewhat  dangerous  obstacles 
float  down  from  the  lumber  ports  of  California 
and  Oregon.  Dolphins  about  the  bows  all  the 
morning. 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 


Table  for  week  ending  November  2. 

October  27. — Lat.  24°  49'  N.  Run — 108  miles. 

Lon.  131°  02'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  69°. 

Damp  and  gloomy.     Light  airs.     High  northerly  swell. 

October  28. — Lat.  25°  23'  N.  Run — 46  miles. 

Lon.  131°  25'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  70°. 

Fine  day.  Exquisite  moonlight  night.  Dead  calm  all  day  and  most  all 
night. 

October  29. — Lat.  25°  33'  N.  Run — 16  miles. 

Lon.  131°  28'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  69°. 

Pleasant.     Full  moon.     Dead  calm  all  A.M.     Light  airs  after  I  P.M. 

October  30. — Lat.  26°  08'  N.  Run — 77  miles. 

Lon.  130°  22/  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  68°. 

Pleasant.     Very  light  breeze  all  day. 

October  31. — Lat.  26°  40'  N.  Run — 35  miles. 

Lon.  130°  34'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  69°. 

Very  hazy  all  day.  Dead  calm,  and  no  steerage-way  until  about  9  P.M. 
Heavy  dew.  Light  breeze  all  night. 

November  i. — Lat.  27°  13'  N.  Run — 32  miles. 

Lon.  130°  21 x  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  72°. 

Fine.  Begins  with  dead  calm.  Light  breeze  at  2  P.M.,  gradually  fresh- 
ening to  moderate. 

November  2. — Lat.  29°  06'  N.  Run — 116  miles. 

Lon.  130°  O2X  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  70°. 

Fine.  Breeze  steady  all  day,  but  failed  in  evening.  Heavy  westerly 
swell.  Ship  rolling  badly  all  afternoon  and  night.  Sailed  by  log  four 
hundred  and  thirty  miles,  a  daily  average  of  only  sixty-one  and  three- 
sevenths  miles.  Hard  luck.  Farallones  Rocks  twenty-five  miles  from  San 
Francisco.  Bore  six  hundred  and  seventeen  miles  off  at  noon  to-day.  A 
three  days'  run  if  we  had  the  breeze.  The  moonlight  was  very  beautiful 
this  week,  the  moon  being  full  on  Wednesday. 


HIS   VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 


AT  SEA,  SUNDAY,  November  2. 

SURELY  there  is  some  truth  in  that  celebrated 
rhyme  "The  Ancient  Mariner,"  and  we  should 
have  taken  heed  from  it  and  not  caught  the  alba- 
tross, in  the  South  Pacific.  It  is,  I  fear,  in  punish- 
ment for  that  slaughter  we  are  now  suffering  this 
tremendous  amount  of  calms.  The  week  just 
passed  should  have  been  all  breezes,  according  to 
the  charts  ;  but,  although  the  ship  did  her  best,  we 
only  had  wind  enough  to  paddle  along  at  the  rate 
of  sixty-one  miles  a  day.  Buooft  Libi 

I  suppose  this  will  be  our  last  Sunday  at  sea. 
'Frisco  is  to-day  only  a  little  over  six  hundred 
miles  off,  and  surely  we'll  scramble  along  over 
that  in  a  week ;  for  the  farther  north  we  proceed 
the  stronger  will  we  find  the  wind.  There  is 
nothing  more  to  be  done  to  the  ship.  From  end 
to  end,  alow  and  aloft,  she  shines  like  a  new  pin, 
and  reflects  great  credit  on  the  captain  and  mate 
for  the  pains  they  have  taken  to  get  her  so.  Only 
let  us  beat  the  "  Spinney"  and  the  captain  will  be 
satisfied,  although  the  great  delays  we  have  had 
on  this  side  of  Cape  Horn  have  wofully  disap- 
pointed him.  Had  we  doubled  our  run  to  that 
point  (and  we  were  confident  of  doing  so),  last 


144 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 


Wednesday,  the  29th,  would  have  found  us  made 
fast  to  a  San  Francisco  wharf.  When  sailors  get 
impatient  at  the  delays  caused  by  calms,  they  have 
various  ways  of  dispelling  the  charm  and  releas- 
ing the  ship.  Some  believe  in  sticking  a  knife  in 
the  forward  side  of  the  mainmast,  some  in  going 
aloft  and  casting  a  lock  of  hair  away,  and  others 
in  throwing  overboard  some  article  of  clothing  as 
an  offering  to  old  /Eolus,  the  god  of  the  winds. 
The  latter  way  is  by  far  the  most  popular,  and 
during  the  last  week  has  been  liberally  practised. 
Old  trowsers,  shirts,  boots,  and  hats  have  been 
thrown  overboard  in  profusion,  but  the  total  value 
of  the  lot  would  not  probably  exceed  twenty-five 
cents.  I  joined  the  sacrificing  band,  and  got  rid 
of  an  old  pair  of  slippers  and  a  pair  of  ragged 
shoes.  There  is  no  danger  of  any  one  adopting 
the  first  method.  The  captain  would  pass  sen- 
tence of  death  on  any  fellow  who  stuck  a  knife  in 
the  mainmast  in  its  present  splendid  condition. 

October  28. — Large  log  covered  with  barnacles 
and  surrounded  by  dolphins  floated  by  us  in  the 
afternoon. 

October  29. — Spent  the  afternoon  shooting  at 
the  gonies  with  the  captain's  rifle.  N.  G.  (No 
gonies  and  no  good.) 

October  30. — To-day  the  drowned  sailor's  chest 
and  clothes  were  sold  by  auction  to  the  crew. 
The  money  realized  (eight  dollars  and  seventy- 


HIS    VOYAGE   AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 

five  cents)  is  handed  to  the  United  States  ship- 
ping commissioner  at  San  Francisco,  if  the  ship 
or  captain  has  no  claims  against  the  amount. 

The  idea  of  being  so  close  to  'Frisco,  where  I'll 
find  a  bunch  of  letters,  is  delightful,  but  is  tinged 
with  a  slight  feeling  of  anxiety,  for  I  have  been 
literally  out  of  the  world  for  four  whole  months. 


«3 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 


Table  for  week  ending  November  9. 

November  3. — Lat.  30°  26'  N.  Run — 80  miles. 

Lon.  129°  39'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  72°. 

Light  airs  and  pleasant.  High  swell  from  northwest.  Ship  rolling 
heavily. 

November  4. — Lat.  31°  26'  N.  Run — 65  miles. 

Lon.  129°  21'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  68°. 

Calm  at  first ;  gentle  breezes  later  on.  Clear  and  cold.  Nautiluses  very 
numerous.  Gonies  ditto,  and  also  very  hungry  and  fierce;  caught  several 
and  let  them  go. 

November  5. — Lat.  33°  29'  N.  Run — 137  miles. 

Lon.  128°  44/  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  67°. 

Gentle  to  moderate  breeze.  Sea  rough.  Heavy  rain  and  squalls  all 
night.  Sea  increasing  rapidly  and  very  rough.  Ship  diving  in. 

November  6. — Lat.  34°  39'  N.  Run — 167  miles. 

Lon.  126°  13'  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  61°. 

Variable  weather.  Wind  fresh  to  very  strong.  Head-sea,  rough  and 
ugly.  Ship  pitching  badly.  Moderate  gale  all  night. 

November  7. — Lat.  35°  37'  N.  Run — -134  miles. 

Lon.  124°  oi7  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  58°. 

Chilly  and  raw.  Moderate  gale  all  A.M. ;  then  strong  breeze  till  10 
P.M.  Sea  choppy  and  rough.  Short  sail.  Heavy  squalls  and  stiff  winds 
all  night. 

November  8. — Lat.  36°  52'  N.  Run — 119  miles. 

Lon.  123°  ior  W.  Temp,  at  noon,  58°. 

A.M.,  overcast  and  damp.  Breeze  more  moderate.  Sea  lower.  P.M., 
heavy  gale,  with  much  rain.  Tremendous  sea  from  southeast. 

November  9—Lat.    |Nottaken.  Run-  I  Not  taken. 

Lon.  j  Temp,  at  noon,  j 

A.M.,  thick  and  rainy.  Very  high  rough  sea.  Decks  constantly  flooded. 
Sighted  Californian  coast  at  I  P.M.  All  O.  K.  in  San  Francisco  harbor 
5  P-M. 


VOYAGE   AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 


147 


AT  SEA,  SUNDAY,  November  9. 

November  4. — Gonies  about  in  large  numbers ; 
hooked  about  half  a  dozen  and  then  let  them  go. 
Also  fished  up  several  nautiluses. 

November  6. — Saw  a  large  iron  ship,  bound 
south ;  also  a  small  schooner,  bound  in.  The 
latter  was  having  a  very  wet  time  of  it.  A  duck 
that  had  evidently  been  blown  off  shore  tried  to 
get  on  board  in  the  afternoon,  but  failed,  as  the 
wind  was  blowing  a  gale  and  carried  it  away  to 
leeward.  Saw  a  whale  blow  to  windward  at  1 1  A.M. 

November  8. — 12  M.,  great  many  gulls  about, 
showing  our  proximity  to  the  coast.  During  the 
forenoon  made  anchors  ready  to  let  go.  Too 
thick  and  hazy  to  see  land.  Made  out  land  very 
dimly  at  3.30  P.M.  Calm  from  twelve  to  four. 
Barometer  falling  rapidly.  At  four,  wind  came 
out  moderate  from  southeast.  From  10  P.M.  to 
6  A.M.,  November  9,  heavy  gale  and  tremendous 
sea  from  southeast;  raining  in  torrents  and  blacker 
than  pitch.  Ship  laboring  heavily ;  split  foresail 
during  violent  squall.  During  the  night  were 
within  ten  miles  of  San  Francisco  bar  and  six 
miles  of  the  coast. 

November  9. — Began  with  heavy  squalls  of  rain 


A    LANDLUBBER'S  LOG    OF 

and  tremendous  sea.  Ship  tossing  very  badly. 
Weather  cold,  raw,  and  foggy.  At  7  A.M.  saw 
light  on  South  Farallone.  At  10  A.M.  saw  a  large 
ship  through  the  fog.  A  few  minutes  later  fog 
scaled,  and  we  sighted  Farallone  Islands  four 
miles  to  the  northwest.  Stood  in  and  made  out 
coast  at  i  P.M.  Saw  pilot-boats  coming  out  at  2 
P.M.  Took  pilot  out  of  boat  No.  10  (the  "  Con- 
fidence"), and  passed  Golden  Gate  at  4.40  P.M., 
just  exactly  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  days 
from  Cape  May.  Ran  in  harbor,  and  dropped 
anchor  off  Telegraph  Hill  at  5.15  P.M.  Were 
boarded  by  reporter  and  harbor  police,  also 
by  thirty-seven  sailor's  boarding-house  runners. 
Found  that  the  "Spinney"  had  been  in  forty- 
eight  hours,  which  makes  our  passage  three  days 
the  best,  and  the  second  best  so  far  of  the  year. 
On  board  all  night.  Were  followed  in  by  the 
ship  we  saw  in  the  morning,  an  Englishman  from 
New  South  Wales,  Australia. 

The  storm  with  which  our  long  voyage  was 
brought  to  a  close  was  oddly  enough,  while  it 
lasted,  the  fiercest  of  the  whole  voyage,  and  one 
of  the  most  violent  ever  recorded  on  the  coast  of 
California.  The  barometer  sank  lower  in  San 
Francisco  than  it  had  for  sixteen  years,  and  the 
wind  played  tremendous  havoc  among  the  ship- 
ping in  the  harbor.  At  i  A.M.  on  the  morning  of 
the  Qth  I  was  awakened  by  the  fearful  rolling  of 


HIS   VOYAGE  AROUND    CAPE  HORN. 


149 


the  ship,  and  slipping  on  my  bad-weather  toggery, 
went  forward  through  the  cabins,  meaning  to  go 
on  the  main  deck.  On  forcing  open  the  door 
a  volume  of  water  rushed  in,  upsetting  me  and 
flooding  the  forward  cabin  knee-deep  before  I 
could  get  the  door  closed.  Much  astonished  at 
this  unexpected  bath,  I  gained  the  quarter-deck 
by  way  of  the  companion-way,  where  I  found  the 
scene  a  most  terrific  one ;  the  ship  half  hidden  in 
the  clouds  of  flying  spray  which  the  wind  whisked 
off  the  tops  of  the  mountainous  waves  and  drove 
across  the  swimming  decks,  was  almost  completely 
denuded  of  canvas  and  looked  in  more  distress 
than  I  had  ever  seen  her.  For  a  while  it  looked 
as  if  we  were  destined  to  the  delay  of  having  to 
run  out  to  sea  again,  but  after  fighting  on  for 
several  hours  the  gale  broke  suddenly,  and  a  shift 
of  wind  rapidly  lowered  the  sea.  Then  as  the 
storm  cleared  away  the  wind  came  out  fresh  and 
strong  from  the  northwest,  a  quarter  which  exactly 
suited  us,  and  so  with  every  rag  set  and  drawing, 
from  the  courses  to  the  royals,  we  made  our  final 
dash  in  glorious  style,  passing  the  Golden  Gate 
just  as  the  setting  sun  burst  through  the  angry 
clouds,  and  bathed  its  frowning  portals  in  a  flood 
of  golden  light. 

Thus  ends  the  passage  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-four  days.  The  good  ship  has  done  well, 
and  although  it  is  much  longer  than  we  expected 

13* 


A   LANDLUBBER'S  LOG. 

to  be  after  our  fine  run  to  Cape  Horn,  still  the 
passage  is  decidedly  a  good  one.  In  no  single 
instance  has  any  vessel  outsailed  us,  although  we 
have  repeatedly  come  up  with  and  sunk  vessels 
astern.  On  the  whole  voyage  we  did  not  sight  a 
steamer.  I  find  on  conning  over  this  log  that  it 
is  decidedly  rose-colored, — that  is  to  say,  I've  taken 
the  best  possible  look  at  everything,  but  have  put 
down  very  few  of  the  inconveniences  of  life  at 
sea,  and  this  fact  proves  that  I've  enjoyed  myself, 
for  otherwise  I  should  have  taken  advantage  of 
anything  which  warranted  a  growl.  Here  then  I 
stop,  letting  go  anchor  in  San  Francisco  harbor. 
May  the  "  Pactolus"  and  her  officers  see  many 
more  such  voyages  as  this  has  been,  and  may  I 
find  the  journey  "  'round  the  world"  as  pleasant 
as  that  around  the  "  Horn"  ! 


THE   END. 


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